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FROM   THE  LIBRARY  OF 
REV.   LOUIS    FITZGERALD    BENSON.  D.  D. 

BEQUEATHED   BY  HIM   TO 

THE   LIBRARY  OF 

PRINCCTON  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


/0^\9r 


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,IFE  AND  SELECTED  WRITINGS 


OF 


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^DEC  1   1936  ^ 

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Francis  Dana  Hemenway: 

LATE  PROFESSOR  OF  HEBREW  AND   BIBLICAL  LITERA- 
TURE IN  THE  GARRETT  BIBLICAL  INSTITUTE, 
EVANSTON,  ILLINOIS. 


BY 


CHARLES  F.  BRADLEY,    AMOS  W.  PATTEN, 
CHARLES  M.  STUART. 


CINCINNATI  AND  CHICAGO  : 

CRANSTON    &   STOWE 

1890. 


PREFACE. 


^T^HIS  work  was  undertaken  a.s  the  result  of  a 
^  suggestion  made  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
Alumni  Association  of  Garrett  Biblieal  Institute  in 
May,  1887.  The  committee  appointed  were  left  with- 
out special  instruction  as  to  matter  and  form,  and  free 
also  to  make  their  own  division  of  labor.  From  his 
special  intimacy  with  Professor  Hemenway,  the  biog- 
raphy was  assigned  to  Professor  C.  F.  Bradley,  D.  D.,  of 
the  class  of  1878,  who,  to  perfect  his  labor  of  love,  si)ent 
part  of  the  summer  of  1888  in  the  scenes  of  Professor 
Hemenway's  boyhood  and  early  manhood,  and  secured 
reminiscences  from  friends  who  remembered  him  n^ 
student,  teacher,  and  pastor.  Former  students,  friends, 
and  parishioners  were  also  laid  under  contribution 
through  correspondence,  and  a  careful  and  thorough 
examination  made  of  diary,  letters,  and  tributes  of 
contemporaries,  to  portray,  as  characteristically  as 
might  be,  the  features  of  one  whom  all  alike  loved 
and  honored.  The  committee  acknowledge  gratefully 
the  kindness  of  all  friends  who  responded  to  the  re- 
quest for  reminiscences;  and  especially  the  unfailing 

3 


4  PREFACE. 

and  sympathetic  assistance  of  Mrs.  Hemenway,  who 
placed  at  their  disposal  her  husband's  diary  and  let- 
ters, and  in  many  other  helpful  ways  made  easier  and 
more  intelligent  the  work  committed  to  them.  To 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Amos  W.  Patten,  of  the  class  of  1870, 
was  assigned  the  preparation  of  the  general  lectures, 
sermons,  and  addresses;  and  to  this  writer,  the  lec- 
tures on  hymnology.  The  work  is  now  sent  forth  to 
perpetuate,  in  some  degree,  the  labors  of  an  able,  de- 
voted, and  accomplished  minister  and  teacher.  May 
it  reach  many,  to  help  and  to  bless! 

CHAKLES  M.  STUART, 

Chairman  of  the  Committee. 
EvANSTON,  III.,  April,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


Part  I— LIFE. 

BY   PROF.    C.    F.    BRADI^KY,    D.  D. 

PAGE. 

Cpiapter        I.  The  Home  aniong  the  Hills, 9 

II.  The  School-house  aud  Church  at  the  Corners,  14 

HI.  Early  Religious  Life, 23 

IV.  School-days  at  N6wbury  and  Concord,     .    .    35 

V.  Pastorate  at  Montpelier, 49 

VI.  New  Fields  at  the  West 60 

VII.  At  Evanston, 73 

VIII.  In  Labors  More  Abundant, 89 

IX.  In  Memoriam— 1884, 102 


Part  II— STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

edited  by  rev.  c.  m.  stuart,  b.  d. 

Introductory  Note, ^^7 

Chapter       I.  Hymns  and  Lyric  Poetry  in  General,  ....  141 
II.  Hymns  of  the  Ancient  Church, 155 

III.  Earlier  Medieval  Hymns, 170 

IV.  Later  Medieval  Hymns, 185 

V.  Hymns  from  German  Authors, 202 

VI.  Earlier  English  Hymns, 227 

VIL  Hymns  of  Isaac  Watts, 240 

VIII.  Hymns  of  the  Wesleys, 256 

Notes. -'^^ 


6  CONTENTS. 

Part  III— LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

EDITED    BY   REV.    A.  W.    PATTEN,    D.   D. 

PAGE. 

I.  Special  Qualifications  Needed  for  a  Methodist  Pastor,  291 
11.  Ritualism  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,    .    .    .  306 

III.  Outlook  of  Methodism, 315 

IV.  God's   Requirements;    or,   the  Trinity   of    Spiritual 

Character,       324 

V.  The  Vicariousness  of  Human  Life, 339 

VI.  The  Character  of  a  True  Life, 354 

VII.  The  Christian  Minister, 370 

VIIL  Fidelity  to  Truth,  .    .    .^ 391 


Bio6rapl)Tcal  okebci). 


BY 


PROFESSOR    C.    F.    BRADLEY,  D.  D. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  HOME  AMONG  THE  HHvLS. 

THE  country  east  of  the  center  of  Vermont  is 
marked  by  huge  ridges  of  hills  running  north 
and  south.  In  a  pleasant  valley  between  two  of  these, 
through  which  flows  the  First  Branch  of  White  River, 
nestles  the  village  of  Chelsea.  Up  to  the  present  day 
no  railroad  train  has  disturbed  its  rural  quiet.  A  yel- 
low coach  drawn  by  four  horses  brings  mail  and  pas- 
sengers once  a  day  from  South  Royalton,  thirteen 
miles  down  the  valley.  West  of  the  village  green 
rises  the  noble  West  Hill,  whose  highest  point  is  not 
less  than  seventeen  hundred  feet  above  the  sea-level. 
A  mountain  road,  starting  from  the  north  end  of  the 
village  street,  climbs  up  this  ridge.  There  are  dense 
woods  on  the  left,  and  glimpses  of  vale  and  hill  on 
the  right  as  one  ascends,  until  higher  ranges  of  hills, 
with  intervening  valleys,  are  attained.  After  about 
two  miles,  an  abrupt  turn  to  the  riglj^t  and  another 
half  mile  bring  the  visitor  to  the  Hemenway  home- 
stead. It  is  a  small  but  comfortable  house,'  sur- 
rounded by  the  ordinary  buildings  of  a  New  England 
farm.  Behind  is  a  wooded  hill,  and  in  front  a  mea- 
dow  with    its  brook.     Undulating   hills    and   a  blue 

peak   in   the  distance  complete  the  pleasing   picture. 

2  9 


10  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

In  this  farm-house,  on  the  tenth  day  of  November, 
1830,  Francis  Dana  Hemenway  was  born. 

The  father,  Jonathan  Wilder  Hemenway,  was  born 
in  Barre,  Massachusetts,  in  1784,  and  came  to  Chelsea 
in  1810.  His  first  wife  bore  him  three  sons  and  four 
daughters.  The  mother  of  Alpheus  and  Francis  was 
the  second  wife,  Sarah  Hebard.  As  is  so  often  the 
case  when  a  distinguished  son  comes  from  an  other- 
wise unknown  family,  the  boy  inherited  from  the 
mother  his  marked  mental  and  moral  traits.  She  is 
described  by  those  who  remember  her  as  above  the 
medium  height,  with  large,  dark  and  expressive  eyes. 
Her  manner  was  quiet  and  sedate.  Though  not  a 
church  member,  she  was  a  religious  woman,  and,  hav- 
ing a  sweet  voice,  sang  in  the  church  choir.  The 
whole  family  felt  the  inspiration  of  her  intelligence 
and  character.  Her  mother,  Sarah  Davison,  was  also 
a  woman  of  superior  mind  and  manners.  She  is  said 
to  have  been  a  Congregationalist.  Such  glimpses, 
slight  but  gratifying,  we  get  of  ''  the  grandmother 
Lois  and  the  mother  Eunice. '' 

Given  a  New  England  stock,  a  simple  New  Eng- 
land country  home,  and  the  influences  of  New  Eng- 
land village  life,  and  what  will  be  the  result?  As 
well  might  we  ask  what  carbon  will  become  in  Na- 
ture's laboratory.  The  Vermont  and  New  Hamp- 
shire farmers'  boys  in  those  days  had  possibilities. 
Webster,  Marsh,  Chase,  and  many  others,  prove  that. 
The  humbler  Puritan  stock  had  the  strength  of  granite, 
and  contained  here  and  there  veins  of  gold-bearing 
quartz.  The  district  schools  and  the  rural  academies 
discovered  the  gold,  and  the  country  colleges  gave  it 


THE  HOME  AMONG  THE  HILLS.  11 

a  stamp  which  made  it  current  in  the  markets  of  the 
world.  It  is  interesting  to  note  the  contrast  between 
the  conditions  of  the  country-boy  of  unusual  talent, 
born  in  an  undistinguished  home,  and  the  son  of  a 
family  of  the  New  England  "Brahmin  caste/'  The 
latter  had  great  odds  in  his  favor;  inherited  talents, 
culture  from  the  cradle,  a  literary  atmosphere  for  daily 
breathing,  family  influences — which  were  often  in 
themselves  a  liberal  education — the  best  schools  and 
colleges,  the  stimulus  of  family  pride,  and  often  foreign 
travel  and  study  to  widen  the  horizon  and  finish  the 
training.  Yet  the  country  lad  would  often  win  in  the 
long  race.  He  had  his  peculiar  advantages.  The 
simpler  state  offered  fewer  temptations.  The  out-of- 
door  life  favored  freer  development  of  mind  and  body, 
and  furnished  solitude  for  thought  and  intimacy  with 
Nature.  There  was  less  conventionality,  and  more 
chance  for  maturing  individuality.  The  New  Eng- 
land farm  and  village  life  was  the  mold  of  some  of 
our  greatest  and  best  Americans. 

Fortunately  we  have  some  descriptions  of  life  on  the 
West  Hill  of  Chelsea  during  the  boyhood  of  Francis 
Hemenway  in  his  own  words.  Its  circle  embraced  the 
farm-house,  the  school,  the  neighborhood  and  village  so- 
ciety, and  the  church.  Its  main  features  may  be  quickly 
sketched.  There  was  a  simplicity  about  it  which 
might  seem  to  us  to  involve  hardship.  This  embraced 
cold  bedrooms  in  winter,  early  rising,  plain  fare,  hard 
work,  meager  expression  of  affection,  few  holidays, 
and  few  papers  and  books.  Yet  there  were  lofty  ideals 
connected  with  this  plain  living.  There  were  strict 
integrity,  high  devotion  to  duty,  deep  though  unde- 


12  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

monstrative  family  affection,  Puritan  morality,  high 
intelligence  and  practical  good  sense,  and  noble  types 
of  manhood  and  womanhood,  such  as  have  ever  lifted 
the  poorest  of  our  New  England  native  homes  im- 
measurably above  the  cottage  of  the  ordinary  Euro- 
pean peasant.  The  Hemenway  home  lacked  only 
family  religion  to  make  it  typical  of  the  best  New 
England  family  life.  Even  this  lack  was  to  a  large 
extent  supplied  by  the  mother,  who  taught  her  chil- 
dren to  pray  and  read  the  Bible.  Her  death,  when 
Francis  was  nine  years  old,  left  him  deeply  be- 
reaved, but  permanently  benefited  by  her  teachings 
and  example. 

Francis  developed  rapidly  in  body  and  mind  until 
his  fourteenth  year.  He  was  then  a  robust  and  merry 
boy,  large  for  his  age,  and  with  a  growing  reputation 
as  a  precocious  scholar,  fond  both  of  fun  and  of  his 
books.  One  old  neighbor,  now  eighty-three  years  of 
age,  remembers  him  as  ^' a  first-rate  boy  —  an  extra 
boy  ;  bound  to  make  his  mark.  '^  A  proof  of  this 
recognized  precocity  is  the  tradition,  cherished  in  the 
family,  though  not  fully  vouched  for,  that  when  seven 
years  old  he  read  the  whole  New  Testament  in  a 
week.  Certain  it  is,  that  before  he  was  eight,  he  had 
read  the  entire  Bible  through. 

A  severe  illness  in  his  fourteenth  year  marks  a 
crisis  in  his  life.  The  nature  of  the  disease  is  not  cer- 
tainly known.  He  himself,  in  his  later  life,  regarded 
the  improper  treatment  of  an  ignorant  physician  as 
more  serious  than  the  disease.  Some  years  of  ill- 
health  followed.  He  could  do  little  work  or  hard 
study.     Yet  this  serious  check,  which  seems  to  have 


THE  HOME  AMONG  THE  HILLS.  13 

put  a  ball  and  chain  henceforth  upon  his  physical 
strength,  and  which  doubtless  shortened  his  life, 
brought  blessings  too.  Relieved  from  the  necessity  of 
working  on  the  farm,  he  had  leisure  for  study.  His 
life  became  more  solitary  and  introspective,  and  habits 
of  religious  meditation  and  prayer  were  formed,  which 
gave  wings  to  his  spirit.  The  depth  and  originality 
of  his  spiritual  life  owed  much,  no  doubt,  to  the  quiet 
hours  he  spent  in  the  woods  and  in  the  little  chamber 
with  its  one  south  window,  which  is  still  cherished  as 
^'  Francis'  room. '' 


14  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  SCHOOL-HOUSE  AND  CHURCH  AT  THE 
CORNERS. 

^'  nr^HE  Corners/'  which  formed  the  center  of  social 
X  and  religious  life  for  the  neighborhood,  were 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  south-west  of  the  Hemenway 
farm.  They  could  boast  neither  post-office  nor  store, 
and  but  few  dwellings.  The  plain,  typical  Vermont 
district  school-house,  which  stood  at  the  cross-roads, 
had  no  comeliness  of  form  or  feature;  but  that  its 
surroundings  and  influence  were  held  in  grateful  re- 
membrance by  this  man  whose  boyhood  was  blessed 
by  them,  we  know  from  the  following  sketch,  written 
in  the  early  days  of  his  last  illness : 

"There  it  stood,  turning  its  homely  but  honest  face  toward 
me,  as  I  made  my  weary  journey  of  a  mile  and  a  half  from 
my  childhood  home  to  this  scene  and  center  of  my  early  toils 
and  triumphs.  There  was  no  paint  on  the  walls,  either  out- 
side or  inside;  no  inclosing  fence;  no  friendly  shade  of  trees; 
and  no  shrubbery  of  any  kind,  except  that  on  one  side  the  orig- 
inal underbrush  had  never  been  fully  cleared  away.  Fortu- 
nately, however,  the  woods  were  not  far  away,  and  here  were 
found  inexhaustible  resources  in  climbing  the  trees,  getting 
spruce-gum,  and  hunting  the  squirrels  and  rabbits.  Indeed, 
they  were  to  us  boys  a  veritable  Arcadia.  I  have  heard  a 
good  deal  about  *  classic  groves '  and  '  scholarly  retreats,'  and 
have  seen  some  of  the  most  famous  of  these  on  both  sides  of 
the  sea,  but  have  found  nothing  that  has  brought  to  me  more 
exhilaration,  or  a  more  delicious  sense  of  freedom  and  wealth, 
than  came  to  me  in  that  oft-frequented  forest.     Our  play- 


THE  SCHOOL-HOUSE  AND  CHURCH.  15 

ground  was,  to  appearance,  rather  restricted ;  for,  in  the  good 
old  utiHtarian  times,  no  heresy  could  have  been  more  radical 
than  that  of  actually  providing  a  play-ground  for  the  children. 
But  human  nature  is  wiser  than  puritanical  rules,  and  stronger 
than  the  barriers  which  the  unthoughtfulness  and  poverty  of 
our  parents  had  thrown  about  us ;  for  we  took,  as  our  rightful 
domain,  'all  out-doors,'  finding  our  only  limits  in  the  length 
of  the  nooning  or  recess.  ...  Of  course  each  day 
of  the  winter's  school  began  by  the  building  of  the  fire  by  the 
boy  whose  turn  it  was,  for  we  were  our  own  janitors.  The 
young  hero  had  to  make  an  early  start ;  iiad  to  do  all  his  own 
chores  at  home— feed  the  horses,  milk  the  cows,  feed  the  cattle, 
clear  the  stables,  eat  his  breakfast,  put  up  the  doughnuts  and 
apples  for  his  dinner — take  his  walk  of  half  a  mile,  or  mile,  or 
mile  and  a  half,  and  get  a  rousing  fire  started  by  half-past  eight 
o'clock.  At  nine  the  work  began.  The  staple  of  the  work  for 
the  first  hour  of  each  session  was  reading.  The  first  class, 
made  up  of  all  the  full-grown  boys  and  girls,  read  in  the 
'American  First  Class  Book,'  compiled  by  John  Pierpont. 
This  exercise  consisted  in  calling  upon  each  individual  in  turn 
to  stand  up  at  his  seat  and  read  a  paragraph,  which,  with  the 
aid  of  the  teacher's  prompting,  he  would  generally  be  able  to 
do.  The  second  class  would  be  distinguished  by  being  called 
out  to  sit  together  on  a  front  seat  to  repeat  substantially  the 
same  programme  as  the  first,  except  that  a  different  reading-book 
was  used,  which,  for  many  years,  was  '  Emerson's  Second  Class 
Reader.'  The  days  of  the  'Scott's  Lessons,'  the  '  Enghsh 
Reader,'  and  the  '  Art  of  Reading,'  had  gone  by,  and  the  above 
avani-couriers  of  the  coming  multitude  had  taken  their  places. 
The  other  classes  were  called  up  into  the  floor,  and  had  to  stand 
with  their  toes  exactly  to  the  crack  in  the  floor,  while  they 
went  through  the  same  original  and  exciting  exercise.  Then 
came  the  time  for  the  master  to  go  round  to  each  one  who 
'  ciphered,'  and  ask  him  if  he  had  any  difficulty  in  doing  the 
'sums,'  and  when  any  one  was  pointed  out,  he  was  expected 
to  take  slate  and  pencil,  and  work  out  the  example  for  the 
benefit  of  the  lazy  dunce.  And  now  there  is  a  lull.  The 
master  seems  to  be  getting  through,  and  the  boys  are  all 
awake  and  under  a   common    spell.     Suddenly   the  word  is 


16  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH, 

spoken,  'Boys  may  go  out,'  and  upon  the  instant  the  door 
flies  open,  and  with  an  explosion  like  a  bottle  of  pop,  the 
school-house  discbarges  one-half  of  its  contents  into  the  street. 
Had  a  pound  of  dynamite  been  exploded  under  the  seat  of 
each  individual  boy,  the  movement  would  hardly  have  been 
more  prompt.  But  when,  after  five  minutes,  the  rapping  of 
the  master's  ruler  upon  the  rattling  window-sash  called  us 
again  to  duty,  the  effervescence  had  all  departed,  and  we  came 
back  with  exemplary  sedateness. 

"  We  had  little  apparatus  in  the  old  school-house.  I  well  re- 
member when  our  first  blackboard  put  in  an  appearance — a 
rather  diminutive  specimen,  about  two  feet  by  three — and  we 
had  to  wait  a  year  or  two  before  anybody  could  find  a  use  to 
put  it  to.  As  for  a  globe,  or  outlhie  maps,  we  had  never  seen 
them,  and  had  no  idea  of  any  purpose  they  could  serve.  Even 
a  call-bell  was  an  unnecessary  refinement ;  there  was  more 
character,  and  more  ominous  suggestiveness,  in  the  birch  ruler. 
The  only  absolutely  indispensable  article  of  apparatus  was  this 
same  ruler.  Whatever  else  the  teacher  had,  or  did  not  have,  it 
would  not  do  for  him  to  be  without  this.  You  might  as  well 
have  a  mason  without  a  trowel,  a  barber  without  a  razor,  or  a 
policeman  without  his  club.  At  all  events,  I  have  a  pretty 
distinct  memory  that,  in  my  days,  this  particular  article  of 
school  apparatus  was  put  to  constant  and  faithful  service. 

"What  did  we  do  in  that  old  school-house?  Just  about 
every  thing.  If  there  was  any  thing  we  did  not  do,  it  was  be- 
cause it  had  not  been  invented.  We  strained  every  nerve, 
exercised  every  muscle,  practiced  every  sense;  took  all  the 
studies  from  the  alphabet  to  algebra,  geometry,  rhetoric,  chem- 
istry, and  *  Watts  on  the  Mind ;'  carved  in  the  soft  basswood 
desks  all  possible  grotesqueness  in  form;  upset  the  benches; 
experienced  about  every  form  of  penalty  which  pedagogic  in- 
genuity could  invent,  from  'ferrilling'  to  standing  on  the 
floor,  or  sitting  among  the  girls.  In  the  evenings  we  had  de- 
bates, spelling-schools,  and  exhibitions. 

"But  how  can  I  recount  the  histories  which  were  made 
there?  As  my  mind  dwells  upon  it,  I  feel  the  flow  of  infinite 
numbers,  and  take  wjarning  from  the  inexhaustibleness  of 
mv  theme  to  constrain  mvself   into   limits.     That   old   house 


THE  SCHOOL-HOUSE  AND  CHURCH.  17 

becomes,  in  my  memory,  a  world  peopled  with  innumerable 
forms  of  beauty  and  life.  Never  may  I,  this  side  of  heaven, 
realize  intenser  experiences  than  in  the  days  when  my  life  re- 
volved about  this  center.  This  old  house  represents  one  of 
the  mightiest  forces  which  have  come  into  my  own  life,  I 
have  seen  many  good  schools,  and  have  taught  some  of  them 
myself,  I  may  say  in  all  modesty,  and  yet  I  have  never  known 
any  school  that  was  more  loyal  to  its  own  work,  or  one  in 
which  the  lines  of  progress  were  more  directly  drawn.  If  I 
interrogate  my  own  experience,  I  am  constrained  to  the  con- 
clusion that  some  of  my  most  important  school-work  was  done 
in  this  old  Vermont  school-house  before  I  was  twelve  years  of 
age.  The  decisions  which  have  determined  the  hue  and  color- 
ing of  my  life,  so  far  as  I  can  now  judge,  were,  in  large  meas- 
ure, made  in  that  early  time." 

Not  far  from  the  school-house  stood  the  church, 
or,  as  it  was  then  called,  the  "  West  Hill  Meetin'- 
house.''  This  was  a  unique  institution,  which  served 
a  variety  of  purposes,  and  was  not  the  home  of  any 
one  Christian  organization.  The  Methodists  of  the 
neighborhood  formed  a  class,  which  met  in  some 
private  house,  but  held  their  membership  in  the 
Church  at  Chelsea  village.  Their  pastor  |)reached  a 
certain  number  of  Sundays  in  the  West  Hill  Meeting- 
house, according  to  an  arrangement  described  below. 
The  following  sketch,  written  by  Dr.  Hemenway  for 
the  Vermont  Messenger,  gives  us  a  charming  picture 
of  this  peculiar  sanctuary: 

"  It  w^as  a  union  church  ;  such  an  one  as  a  good  old  Episco- 
palian minister  used  to  call  a  Pantheon— that  is,  a  place  where 
all  the  gods  are  worshiped.  But  this  was  by  no  means  true 
of  this  dear  old  church.  Many  indeed,  and  various,  were  the 
'performances'  of  which  it  was  the  scene  and  witness,  strik- 
ing every  chord  of  human  experience,  from  pathos  to  bathos. 


18  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH, 

Funerals,  weddings,  sermons,  lectures  on  temperance,  lectures 
on  phrenology,  lectures  on  mesmerism,  magic-lantern  exhibi- 
tions, school  exhibitions,  revivals,  prayer-meetings,  Sunday- 
schools,  singing-schools,  and  lyceum  debates,  have  all  pre- 
sented themselves  in  turn  in  this  community  kaleidoscope. 
Methodists,  Congregationalists,  Universalists,  Adventists,  Bap- 
tists— Freewill  and  Calvinistic— and  Christians  (with  the  lirst 
*/'  long),  held  places  in  the  ecclesiastical  procession.  And 
yet  the  difference  was  mainly  in  the  minister  and  the  name; 
the  congregation,  the  choir,  the  hymn-books,  and  the  order  of 
service  were,  for  the  most  part,  the  same.  This  can  also  be 
said  of  the  subject-matter  of  the  preaching,  if  one  or  two  of 
the  denominations  be  excepted.  And  it  is  my  belief  that,  not- 
withstanding the  various  names  and  creeds  represented  in  the 
services,  the  worship  in  that  humble  country  church,  as  con- 
stantly and  truly  as  in  any  church  I  have  ever  attended,  was 
paid  to  the  living  and  true  God. 

"  It  had  just  fifty-two  pews,  divided  among  fifty-one  owners 
(except  that  one  man,  with  a  very  large  family,  went  to  the 
extravagance  of  owning  two),  one  for  each  Sunday  in  the  year. 
A  most  fortunate  circumstance  was  this,  for  it  furnished  a 
ready  and  perfect  solution  of  the  problem  of  occupancy.  At 
the  beginning  of  the  year,  subscription  papers  were  circulated 
among  the  pew-owners,  and  they,  according  to  their  denomi- 
national preferences,  signed  their  Sundays  to  Baptists,  Meth- 
odists, etc. ;  the  number  of  names  on  each  paper  indicating 
the  number  of  Sundays  that  denomination  might  control  the 
house  that  year.  Generally,  as  already  intimated,  the  same 
congregation  would  be  present,  whoever  preached;  though,  as 
must  be  confessed,  when  the  Universalists  'occupied,'  the  con- 
gregations were  'pretty  slim.' 

"  Few  spots  on  this  green  earth  are  to  me  as  this  old 
church.  I  have  sat  on  its  hard  benches  (for  never  were  seats 
constructed  with  a  more  sublime  unconsciousness  of  the  anat- 
omy of  the  human  frame)  for  many  dismal  hours,  and  oft- 
times  with  a  burning  indignation  against  the  minister  for  his 
bad  faith,  in  that  he  had  finally  come  to  say  'once  more,'  and 
then,  after  thus  raising  my  hopes,  had  rudely  dashed  them 
again  by  keeping  on,  as  I  thought,  a  good  many  timts  more. 


THE  SCHOOL-HOUSE  AND   CHURCH.  19 

My  most  sacred  and  most  cherished  memories  center  here. 
Here  I  first  became  accustomed  to  the  services  of  religion,  for 
the  voice  of  prayer  and  praise  was  not  wont  to  be  heard  in  my 
childhood  home.  Here  I  recited  my  first  Sunday-school 
lesson;  here  I  first  knelt  as  a  'seeker'  at  the  ' anxious  seat ;' 
here  I  stammered  out  my  first  words  of  Christian  testimony; 
here  I  was  baptized  and  licensed  to  exhort ;  here  I  spoke  my 
first  words  as  a  Christian  minister;  and  here,  too,  I  was  mar- 
ried. Here,  with  an  ineffable  sense  of  desolation,  a  pitiable 
boy  of  nine,  I  last  looked  on  the  dear  face  of  my  mother;  and 
fifteen  years  later,  in  the  very  same  place,  the  words  of  re- 
ligion were  spoken  at  the  funeral  of  my  father.  In  the  old 
burying-ground,  in  the  rear,  sleep  my  parents,  my  wife's  par- 
ents, a  sister  of  each  of  us,  together  with  many  a  friend  and 
playmate  of  our  childhood  years, 

"Various,  indeed,  have  been  the  'gifts'  which  have  been 
exercised  in  that  pulpit.  Sermons  of  the  '  vealy  '  type,  Sf  rmons 
of  the  traditional  '  hard-shell '  variety,  and  sermons  as  keen  and 
resistless  as  one  ever  hears,  would  follow  each  other  in  close 
order.  The  holy  tones  of  tlie  'Freewillers,'  the  'roarations'  of 
the  '  Campaigners,'  and  the  affectations  of  the  college-bred  min- 
isters, were  all  familiar  to  the  people  who  worshiped  there. 
The  singing  ranged  from  such  minor  fugues  as  'Complaint,' 
'Russia,'  and  'New  Durham' — any  one  of  which  was  doleful 
enough  to  start  tears  from  anybody  who  had  tears  to  shed — to 
'The  Old  Granite  State,'  which  was  made  to  carry  such  choice 
and  devotional  lines  as — 

'  You  will  see  your  Lord  a  coming, 
You  will  see  the  dead  arising, 
"We  '11  march  up  into  the  city, 
While  a  band  of  music, 
While  a  band  of  music, 
While  a  band  of  music, 
Will  be  sounding  through  the  air.' 

By  way  of  an  awful  warning  to  all  choristers  and  choirs, 
I  must  relate  what  once  happened  because  of  a  fugue 
tune  there. 

"It  was  on  a  bright  afternoon  in  midsummer  that  the  min- 
ister,   from    his  tub-shaped  pulpit,   which  was   just  a  little 


20  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 

lower  than  the  singers'  gallery,  gave  out  that  most  searching 
hymn  of  Joseph  Hart: 

'  O,  for  a  glance  of  heavenly  day.' 

The  faithful  chorister  had  already  before  him  his  list  of  tunes, 
and  the  moment  the  minister  said  'long  meter,'  set  to  work 
looking  up  the  tune.  His  choice  was  telegraphed  to  the  vari- 
ous sections  of  the  choir,  and  the  singing  began.  The  hymn 
was  solemn,  and  the  tune  in  keeping  with  it,  while  a  fugue  ar- 
rangement of  the  last  line  added  to  its  expressiveness.  But 
alas!  little  did  we  expect  what  was  before  us;  for  when  we 
reached  the  third  verse,  it  came  upon  us  in  this  fearful  fashion: 

'Thy  judgments,  too,  which  devils  fear, 
Amazing  thought!  unmoved  I  hear; 
Goodness  and  wrath  in  vain  combine 
Bass— To  stir  this  stu— 
Tenor— To  stir  this  stu— 
Alto— To  stir  this  stu — 
AIiIj— To  stir  this  stu-pid  heart  of  mine.' 

"  But,  after  all,  my  main  interest,  as  I  look  back  to  that  old 
church,  centers  in  the  people  who  used  to  worship  there.  As 
I  think  of  one  after  another  who  used  to  tread  those  aisles 
and  sit  in  those  pews,  what  an  interesting,  and  ofttimes  gro- 
tesque, panorama  passes  before  me  I     Here  is  Deacon  H , 

who  invariably  came  to  meeting  late,  and  marched  up  the  aisle, 
hat  in  one  hand  and  whip  in  the  other,  with  his  thoroughly 
dried  calf-skin  boots  squeaking  like  a  band  of  music.     And 

Deacon  L ,  who,  as  the  reward  of  long,  faithful  practice,  had 

come  to  that  rare  state  of  harmony  between  body  and  soul  that 
he  could  sit  bolt  upright,  and  close  his  eyes  at  the  beginning  of 
the  sermon,  as  if  for  divine  communion,  sleep  soundly  and 
sweetly  as  an  infant  in  its  mother's  arms,  and  wake  up  promptly 
at  the  '  amen '  without  any  starts  or  false  motions.  Not  so  ex- 
pert, however,  was  a  son  of  another  of  the  deacons — Deacon 
S .  His  name  was  John,  and  on  one  occasion,  during  ser- 
mon time,  he  leaned  forward,  resting  his  head  on  the  back  of 
the  pew  before  him,  in  which  unhealthy  and  uncomfortable 
position  he  fell  asleep.  Soon,  however,  the  preacher  having 
occasion  to  refer  to  the  beloved  disciple,  called  out  in  a  clear 


THE   SCHOOL-HOUSE  AND   CHURCH.  21 

and  somewhat  dramatic  tone,  'John.'  Our  friend,  being  sud- 
denly brought  back  to  consciousness,  and  thinking  his  father 
was  making  his  last  and  most  peremptory  call  for  him  in  the 
morning  to  get  up  and  '  do  the  chores,'  startled  all  about  him 
by  calling  out:  '  I  'm  coming,  father !'  It  was  not,  however,  in 
this  church,  but  another,  that  the  preacher,  having  become 
fairly  discouraged  and  desperate  at  the  universal  stupor  of  the 
congregation,  with  a  boldness  (in  expedients)  to  which  we 
were  not  accustomed  in  our  New  England  churches,  suddenly 
stopped,  and  called  upon  the  people  to  stand  up  and  sing: 

'  My  drowsy  powers,  why  sleep  ye  so  ? 
Awake,  my  sluggish  soul.' 

But  he  must  have  experienced  some  laceration  in  his  own 
breast,  as  he  heard  them  calling  out  in  the  very  words  which 
he  had  put  them  to : 

'  Nothing  hath  half  thy  work  to  do, 
Yet  nothing 's  half  so  dull.' 

"  Blessings  on  the  memory  of  the  ministers  who  used  to 
look  down  upon  me  from  the  pulpit  of  that  old  church !  The 
first  Methodist  preacher  I  ever  heard — and  that  was  too  early 
for  me  to  distinctly  remember — was  the  Rev.  James  M.  Fuller, 
who  is  still  *  doing  good  service  as  presiding  elder  of  the  most 
important  district  in  the  State  of  Michigan.  What  a  throng  of 
sacred  memories  cluster  about  the  name  of  Elisha  J.  Scott! 
One  of  my  most  distinct  and  vivid  recollections  is  of  a  baptis- 
mal scene  in  which  he  officiated.  Twenty-eight  young  men 
and  women  marched  from  this  church  to  the  pond,  which 
had  been  extemporized  as  a  baptismal  font,  singing, 

'  On  Jordan's  stormy  banks  I  stand,' 

and  were  all  immersed. 

"But  I  may  not  call  the  roll  of  all  the  precious  names 
which  are  inscribed  on  my  memory  and  graven  on  my  grate- 
ful heart.     Again  I  say,  blessings  on  the  memory  of  the  dead 


=;=In .    Dr.  Fuller  is  now  (1889)  a  superannuate  of  the  Detroit 

Conference,  and  lives  in  Detroit. 


22  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

and  on  the  hearts  and  Uves  of  the  Hving!  What  would  have 
been  the  history  of  that  community  without  that  humble 
church?  What  would  1  have  been?  My  soul  shudders  with 
fear  as  I  look  down  into  the  abyss  of  dark  possibilities." 

Among  others  who  preached  in  this  old  church 
was  the  Rev.  Amasa  G.  Button,  of  whom  Dr.  Hem- 
enway  wrote :  '•  I  heard  him  preach  often,  and  under 
a  great  variety  of  circumstances — in  the  village  church, 
in  the  little  country  meeting-house  on  the  hill,  in 
school-houses,  and  in  private  residences — and  always 
with  much  satisfaction.  I  do  not  think  it  is  often 
given  to  a  minister  to  make  a  more  distinct  and  per- 
'manent  impression  on  a  boy  of  twelve,  than  I  have 
retained  from  those  important  years.  He  led  the 
first  Methodist  class-meeting  I  ever  attended.'' 


EARLY  RELIGIOUS  LIFE.  23 


CHAPTER  III. 

EARIvY    RELIGIOUS    LIFE. 

TO  form  a  complete  picture  of  the  outward  condi- 
tions of  Francis  Hemenway's  early  life,  we  need 
only  add  the  additional  features  of  the  neighborhood 
and  village  society.  The  neighboring  homes  were 
substantially  like  his  own,  though  in  some  of  them 
there  was  a  more  positive  religious  and  intellectual 
life.  This  was  exemplified  in  the  household  of  Mr. 
Ichabod  Bixby,  a  man  of  excellent  mind  and  marked 
religious  character,  and  the  class-leader  for  this  neigh- 
borhood. His  home  was  about  three  miles  from  the 
Hemenway  farm.  Besides  the  Sunday  and  week-day 
religious  meetings  and  social  gatherings,  there  were 
lyceum  meetings  and  lectures,  to  bring  the  neighbors 
together.  The  village  life,  which  formed  the  connect- 
ing link  between  the  West  Hill  and  the  outside  world, 
diifered  mainly  in  degree  from  that  already  described. 
Chelsea  Green  supported  two  churches,  a  court-house, 
a  small  academy,  and  a  more  compact  community. 

Amid  the  environments  already  described,  began 
that  inner  life  which  gives  to  this  biography  its  chief 
interest.  Soon  after  his  fifteenth  birthday,  Francis 
Hemenway  commenced  a  journal,  devoted  almost  ex- 
clusively to  his  religious  states  and  feelings.  This  was 
continued,  with   slight   interruptions,   for   about    five 


24  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 

years.  Its  set  phrases  for  religious  things  contrast 
strangely  with  the  terse  and  manly  utterances  of  his 
later  life,  and  are  to  be  attributed  to  the  books  of  de- 
votion then  in  vogue,  and  to  language  then  used  in 
relating  religious  experience,  which  almost  constituted 
a  dialect.  The  journal  tells  us,  in  a  sort  of  introduc- 
tion, that  the  habit  of  reading  the  Bible  and  of  daily 
prayer  had  been  early  fixed  by  the  instructions  of  his 
mother.  After  her  death,  in  his  ninth  year,  he  had 
many  serious  thoughts,  and  was  convinced  that  he 
ought  to  become  a  Christian,  but  the  fear  of  ridicule 
kept  him  from  open  confession.  After  describing  this 
condition  of  mind,  his  journal  says: 

"Such  was  the  state  of  my  mind  when  a  protracted  meeting 
was  commenced  at  this  place  in  February,  1843 ;  and  while  I 
was  present  one  evening,  an  invitation  was  given  to  all  who 
felt  their  need  of  a  Savior  to  come  forward  for  prayers.  I 
immediately  rose  and  went  forward,  and  continued  so  to  do  for 
several  successive  evenings ;  and,  although  I  could  not  specify 
the  precise  time,  place,  or  even  day,  yet  I  felt  that  in  the  course 
of  the  few  days,  dating  from  the  time  I  first  went  forward  for 
prayers  until  the  termination  of  the  meeting,  a  change  had 
come  over  me.  St.  John  says,  '  We  hfiow  we  have  passed  from 
death  unto  life,  because  we  love  the  brethren,'  and  I  felt  that 
such  was  my  own  case;  but  when  I  heard  others  relate  the 
wondrous  exercises  of  their  mind,  and  the  marvelous  change 
instantaneously  wrought  in  them,  my  mind  would  revert  to 
my  (mm  case,  to  think  how  different  had  been  my  feelings,  and 
a  doubt  as  to  my  genuine  conversion  would  sometimes  arise ; 
but  I  could  not  see  why  the  apostle  spoke  of  knovjing,  because 
we  love  the  brethren,  if  the  feelings  of  all  Christians  were 
always  thus  clear.  But  my  feeling  towards  Christians  was  not 
the  only  particular  in  which  I  observed  a  change.  I  felt  that 
I  loved  religion  ;  I  loved  secret  prayer ;  I  loved  devotional 
books — those  which  perhaps  would  have  been  the  most  irk- 


EARLY  RELIGIOUS  LIFE.  25 

some  to  me  before,  I  now  delighted  in;  and,  altliough  I  did 
not  feel  so  clear  in  my  mind  as  I  wished,  yet  I  felt  warranted 
in  concluding  my  conversion  real.  Yet  I  had  some  misgiv- 
ings, lest  the  change  I  had  noticed  might  be  something  short 
of  genuine  conversion ;  and  I  would  sometimes  retire,  and  en- 
deavor to  examine  myself,  and  see  whether  I  were  in  the 
faith  or  not,  and  usually  after  a  period  of  self-examination,  I 
felt  strengthened  and  confirmed,  though  not  always  fully 
satisfied." 

Believing  himself  a  ChristiaD,  he  now  considered 
the  matters  of  baptism  and  of  uniting  with  the  church. 
At  that  time  the  Methodists  of  that  community  prac- 
ticed immersion  almost  as  exclusively  as  the  Baptists. 
The  ceremony  of  ^^  going  forward  in  baptism/'  as  it 
was  called,  being  performed  in  a  pond  near  the 
church,  was  somewhat  formidable.  An  opportunity 
of  being  thus  immersed  having  passed  by  without  his 
knowing  it  in  season,  he  felt  at  liberty  to  postpone 
the  act  for  a  time.  Thus  two  years  passed,  at  the  end 
of  which  came  the  loss  of  health  referred  to  in  the 
first  chapter.  As  his  journal  says:  ^' It  was  deeply 
afflicting  at  this  important  season  of  life  to  be  com- 
pelled to  remain  inactive  in  body  and  mind.^'  Yet 
he  sought  for  the  bright  side  of  this  providence,  and 
found  his  affliction  drawing  him  nearer  to  Christ. 

"As  by  my  sickness  I  was  in  a  measure  shut  out  of  the 
world,  and  worldly  sources  of  enjoyment  were  cut  off,  my  only 
resource  consisted  in  the  smiles  of  that  Friend  that  sticketh 
closer  than  a  brother,  and  he  did  not  forsake  me.  As  my  dis- 
ease precluded  much  exercise,  either  of  body  or  mind,  yet  did 
not  wholly  confine  me,  I  was  left  with  no  employment  which 
might  interfere  with  any  regulations  I  might  adopt,  and  there- 
fore I  instituted  four  stated  seasons  of  secret  devotion  daily ; 
and  I  did  find  true  comfort  and  consolation,  in  this  season  of 

3 


26  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 

deep  aflfliction,  in  unbosoming  my  cares  to  Him  who  can  *be 
touched  with  the  feeUng  of  our  infirmities.' " 

At  intervals,  perplexiug  doubts  concerning  the 
reality  of  his  conversion  gave  him  great  trouble^ 
Like  many  young  (Christians,  he  feared  that  his  relig- 
ious experience  was  not  genuine,  simply  because  it 
did  not  correspond  to  a  particular  type  deemed  essen- 
tial by  some  others,  and  set  up  as  a  standard  in  his 
own  mind.  Careful  self-examination  would  reassure 
him  that  he  had  really  experienced  the  saving  mercy 
of  God.  The  first  year  of  the  journal  presents  an 
aifecting  picture  of  this  invalid  boy,  struggling  against 
his  doubts,  and  earnestly  striving  for  a  higher  Chris- 
tian life.  On  the  7th  of  January,  1847,  he  prepared 
and  formally  signed  a  Avritten  self-dedication.  He 
was  apparently  led  to  this  act  by  a  devotional  work 
called  ^'The  Convert^s  Guide,''  which  he  found  among 
the  few  books  in  his  father's  home.  This  contains  a 
form  of  self-dedication  which  is  credited  to  Dodd- 
ridge's '^  Rise  and  Progress  of  Religion  in  the  Soul," 
but  which  is  really  a  rearrangement  of  portions  of  two- 
examples  of  such  covenants  given  by  Doddridge. 
This  self-dedication,  as  Bishop  Ninde  has  said,  fur-j 
nishes  the  key  to  his  whole  religious  life.  It  is  given 
here  entire,  both  for  its  own  sake,  and  because  of  the 
profound  influence  its  adoption  exerted  upon  his 
character :  , 

SELF-DEDICATION. 

"  Eternal  and  unchangeable  God,  tliou  great  Creator  of 
heaven  and  earth,  and  Lord  of  angels  and  men !  I  desire,  with 
deepest  humiliation  and  abasement  of  soul,  to  fall  down  in  thy 
awful  presence,  deeply  penetrated  with  a  sense  of  thy  glorious 


EARLY  RELIGIOUS  LIFE.  Tl 

perfections.  Trembling  may  well  take  hold  upon  me,  when  I 
presume  to  lift  up  my  soul  to  thee  on  such  an  occasion  as  this. 
Who  am  I,  O  Lord  God,  or  what  is  my  nature  and  descent, 
my  character  and  desert,  that  I  should  speak  of  this,  and  be 
one  party  in  the  covenant,  where  thou.  King  of  kings  and 
Lord  of  lords,  art  the  other?  But,  O  Lord,  great  as  is  thy  maj- 
esty, so  is  thy  mercy.  And  I  know  that  in  and  through  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Son  of  thy  love,  thou  condescendest  to  visit  sinful 
mortals,  and  to  allow  their  approaching  to  thee,  and  their  en- 
gaging in  covenant  with  thee ;  nay,  I  know  that  thou  hast  in- 
stituted the  covenant  relation  between  me  and  thee,  and  that 
thou  hast  graciously  sent  to  propose  it  to  me.  I  am  unworthy 
of  thy  smallest  favors,  and  having  sinned  against  thee,  I  have 
forfeited  all  right  of  stipulation  in  my  own  name,  and  thank 
fully  accept  the  conditions,  which  thy  infinite  wisdom  and 
goodness  have  appointed,  as  just  and  right,  and  altogether 
gracious. 

"  And  this  day  do  I,  with  the  utmost  solemnity  and  sin- 
cerity, surrender  myself  to  thee,  desiring  nothing  so  much  as 
to  be  wholly  thine.  I  renounce  all  former  lords  that  have  had 
dominion  over  me,  and  I  consecrate  to  thee  all  that  I  am  and 
have ;  the  faculties  of  my  mind,  the  members  of  my  body,  my 
worldly  possessions,  my  time,  and  my  influence  with  others, 
to  be  all  used  entirely  for  thy  glory,  and  resolutely  employed 
in  obedience  to  thy  commands,  as  long  as  thou  shalt  continue 
my  life;  ever  holding  myself  in  an  attentive  posture,  to  ob- 
serve the  first  intimations  of  thy  will,  and  ready  with  alacrity 
and  zeal  to  execute  it,  whether  it  relates  to  thee,  to  myself,  or 
to  my  fellow  creatures.  To  thy  direction,  also,  I  resign  my- 
self, and  all  I  am  and  have,  to  be  disposed  of  by  thee  in  such 
manner  as  thou  shalt,  in  infinite  wisdom,  judge  most  for  thy 
glory.  To  thee  I  leave  the  management  of  all  events,  and  say 
without  reserve,  *  Thy  will  he  done.^ 

"  And  I  hereby  resolve  to  take  thee  for  my  supreme  good 
and  all-sufficient  portion ;  that  I  will  acknowledge  no  God  but 
thee — the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost ;  that  I  will 
depend  alone  on  the  mediation  of  thy  dearly  beloved  Son  for 
wisdom,  righteousness,  sanctification,  and  redemption.  And 
may  it  please  thee,  from  this  day  forward,  to  number  me  with 


28  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 

thy  peculiar  people.  Wash  me  in  the  blood  of  thy  dear  Son, 
and  sanctify  me  throughout  by  the  power  of  thy  Spirit,  that  I 
may  love  thee  with  all  my  heart,  and  serve  thee  with  a  will- 
ing mind.  Communicate  to  me,  I  beseech  thee,  all  needful  in- 
fluences of  thy  purifying,  thy  cheering,  and  thy  comforting 
Spirit ;  and  lift  up  the  light  of  thy  countenance  upon  me,  which 
shall  put  joy  and  gladness  into  my  soul.  And  when  I  shall 
have  done  and  borne  thy  will  upon  earth,  call  me  from  hence, 
at  what  time  and  in  what  manner  thou  pleasest ;  only  grant 
that,  in  my  dying  moments  and  in  the  near  prospect  of  eter- 
nity, I  may  remember  these,  my  engagements  to  thee,  and  may 
employ  my  latest  breath  in  thy  service ;  and  do  thou,  Lord, 
when  thou  seest  the  agonies  of  dissolving  nature  upon  me,  re- 
member this  covenant,  too,  even  though  I  should  be  incapable 
of  recollecting  it.  Look  down,  O  my  Heavenly  Father,  with 
a  pitying  eye,  upon  thy  languishing,  thy  dying  child;  place 
thy  everlasting  arms  under  me  for  my  support ;  put  strength 
and  confidence  into  my  departing  spirit,  and  receive  it  to  the 
embraces  of  thy  everlasting  love.  Welcome  it  to  the  abodes 
of  them  that  sleep  in  Jesus,  to  await  with  them  that  glorious 
day,  when  the  last  of  thy  promises  to  thy  covenant  people 
shall  be  fulfilled  in  their  resurrection,  and  to  that  abundant 
entrance,  which  shall  be  ministered  to  them,  into  that  ever- 
lasting kingdom,  of  which  thou  hast  assured  them  by  thy  cov- 
enant, and  in  the  hope  of  which  I  now  lay  hold  on  it,  design- 
ing to  live  and  die  as  with  my  hand  upon  it.     Amen. 

"  As  a  witness  whereof,  I  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seal, 
this,  the  7th  day  of  January,  A.  D.  1847. 

Francis  D.  Hemenway." 

On  March  16,  1847,  he  refers  again  to  his  distress- 
ing doubts,  and  says  :  ^'  Two  weeks  ago  last  Saturday, 
while  reading  Watson's  ^  Life  of  Wesley,'  I  thought 
my  present  state  exactly  corresponded  to  Mr.  Wesley's 
before  his  conversion ;  indeed,  I  never  read  any  man's 
experience  that  seemed  so  exactly  to  correspond  with 
mine  as  Mr.  Wesley's.  I  concluded  I  was  striving  to 
become  justified  by  the  deeds  of  the  law,  or  at  least 


EARLY  RELIGIOUS  LIFE.  29 

by  somethiDg  short  of  that  living  faith  which  is  requi- 
site to  our  justification.  I,  indeed,  was  seeking  after 
holiness  of  heart,  and  even  delighted  in  the  law  of 
God  after  the  inward  man ;  but  yet  I  was  carnal,  sold 
under  sin.  Since  I  have  concluded  this  to  be  my 
state,  I  have  been  endeavoring  to  seek  religion  by 
faith  in  the  Great  Sacrifice  for  sin,  but  as  yet  have 
been  unsuccessful.  I  see  I  am  by  nature  evil,  only 
evil,  and  that  continually,  and  my  only  hope  of  sal- 
vation rests  in  the  merits  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ; 
but  yet  some  accursed  thing  keeps  me  back.  O, 
Lord,  show  me  what  it  is,  and  help  my  unbelief!" 

On  April  25th  his  troubled  heart  found  expres- 
sion in  the  following  verse  of  Charles  Wesley's — an 
early  token  of  that  love  for  devotional  hymns  which 
characterized  him  in  later  life : 

"0,  Love  divine,  how  sweet  thou  art! 
When  shall  I  find  my  willing  heart 

All  taken  up  by  thee? 
I  thirst,  I  faint,  I  die,  to  prove 
The  greatness  of  redeeming  love — 

The  love  of  Christ  to  me." 

On  May  16th  he  says:  '^I  have  not  as  yet  at- 
tained to  the  certain  knowledge  of  my  sins  forgiven, 
but  I  intend  never  to  let  go  my  hold  until  I  do ;  for 
if  I  stay  here  I  die,  and  if  I  go  back  I  die ;  there- 
fore, my  only  hope  is  in  going  forward."  In  this 
painful  condition  of  mind  he  continued  for  months. 
The  first  light  came  from  religious  conversation  with 
a  good  sister  in  the  church,  which  greatly  restored 
his  confidence.  "  She  seeemed  to  be  of  the  opinion," 
he   writes,    '^that   I   had  really  experienced  religion, 


30  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 

and  she  encouraged  me  to  persevere,  for  Jesus  would 
surely  reveal  the  light  of  his  countenance.  Such  is 
my  intention.'' 

The  following  extracts  from  his  diary  trace  his 
deliverance  from  this  despondent  state  : 

^^  July  12.  I  related  some  of  the  exercises  of  my  mind  to 
Brother  Copeland.  He  advised  me  to  go  forward  in  the  duties 
of  a  Christian,  as  I  have  some  evidence  that  I  am  a  Chris- 
tian, and  that  it  is  my  sincere  and  chief  desire  to  be  one.  For 
some  time  before,  I  had  felt  some  misgivings  lest,  after  all,  I 
were  doubting  away  the  grace  of  God,  and  had  begun  to 
notice  some  discrepancy  between  my  experience  and  that  of 
Mr.  AVesley,  the  reading  of  which  was  the  principal  occasion 
of  the  conclusion  that  I  had  been  the  victim  of  self-deception ; 
while  the  state  of  mind  he  spoke  of  seemed  to  be  produced  by 
religious  education,  in  a  great  measure  at  least,  I  had  experi- 
enced a  change  which  did  not  result  wholly  from  religious 
training.  I  feel  that  I  do  delight  in  the  law  of  God,  that  I 
love  religion,  that  I  love  Christians  as  such,  that  sin  is  hateful 
and  holiness  pleasing  in  my  sight;  but  as  yet  I  do  not  see 
very  clearly. 

^^  July  13.  This  evening,  for  the  first  time  in  my  life,  I 
lifted  up  my  voice  in  social  prayer,  and  felt  that  the  Lord  did 
bless  me,  though  the  clouds  of  doubt  and  unbelief  still  hovered 
around.  How  can  I  be  so  faithless,  when  Jesus  has  loved  me 
so  well? 

"/uZy  10.  Spent  some  portion  of  the  day  in  reading  Phil- 
lips's '  Christian  Experience,'  which  served  to  confirm  and 
strengthen  me  in  the  faith.  The  past  has  been  a  season  of 
bitter  trial  to  me,  and  I  pray  that  it  may  not  be  altogether 
unprofitable.  The  conclusion  that  I  had  been  the  victim  of 
self-deception  was  indeed  a  bitter  one,  and  after  I  arrived  at 
it  I  truly  passed  through  a  season  of  attiiction.  I  had  made 
it  my  constant  practice,  for  more  than  two  years,  to  observe 
four  stated  seasons  of  secret  prayer  daily;  but  after  I  gave 
up  the  hope  that  I  was  a  Christian,  I  more  frequently  ob- 
served seven  or  eight  each  day,  than  less.     My  usual  prac- 


EARLY. RELIGIOUS  LIFE.  31 

tice  was  to  read  a  portion  of  Scripture  and  a  hymn  before 
prayer,  and  in  so  doing,  during  the  season  of  trial  and 
doubt,  at  my  seasons  of  prayer  I  read  all  the  penitential 
hymns  in  our  Hymn-book  at  least  twice,  and  many  of  them 
eight  or  ten  times,  besides  many  others  that  I  thought  par- 
ticularly adapted  to  my  frame  of  mind.  I  thank  the  Lord 
that,  although  I  was  thus  doubting,  his  loving-kindness  was 
still  over  me,  and  he  did  at  last  permit  me  to  feel  that  my  feet 
were  established  on  the  rock,  although  as  yet  I  do  not  see  with 
all  the  clearness  I  desire.  But  my  deliverance  from  this  state 
was  certainly  far  different  from  what  I  expected.  I  suppose 
my  state  of  mind  concerning  this  was  something  like  Naaman's, 
for  I  really  thought  the  Lord  would  do  some  great  thing;  and 
even  after  I  began  to  think  I  was  really  converted  and  was 
now  doubting  away  the  grace  of  God,  I  thought  the  Lord  would 
grant  me  such  a  clear  evidence  of  my  conversion  as  would 
leave  no  further  room  for  doubt.  But  in  this  I  was  disap- 
pointed, and  I,  at  last,  was  obliged  to  accept  that  which  I  had 
once  rejected  as  spurious.  I  have  found  that  very  many 
Christians  have  been  in  similar  circumstances. 

"  August  S.  This  day  I  followed  my  Savior  in  the  divinely 
constituted — but  by  me  long  neglected — ordinance  of  baptism, 
which  I  received  by  sprinkling.  As  I  had  become  fully  satis- 
fied that  I  had  been  genuinely  converted,  and.  after  careful 
examination  of  the  subject,  was  thoroughly  convinced  that 
sprinkling  was  valid  baptism,  I  saw  no  reason  why  I  should 
not  obey  the  command  which  says,  'Arise,  and  be  baptized!' 
Immediately  after  being  baptized  I  partook  of  the  Lord's 
Supper. 

^'August  19.  Though  I  feel  the  evidence  of  my  justifica- 
tion quite  clear,  yet  I  want  to  be  holy;  to  know,  by  experi- 
mental knowledge,  that  the  blood  of  Christ  cleanses  me  from 
all  sin." 

This  longing  for  a  richer  Christian  experience 
soon  led  him  to  adopt  a  set  of  formal  rules  for  the 
regulation  of  his  time  and  actions.  The  devotional 
books  which  he  used  doubtless  suggested  this  course, 


32  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 

and  his  ill-health  gave  him  the  requisite  time  for 
keeping  the  rules.  Dated  August  31st,  they  are  as 
follows: 

"1.  I  will  observe  at  least  five  seasons  of  devotion  daily: 
The  first  immediately  after  rising,  the  second  at  9  A.  M,,  the 
third  at  1  P.  M.,  the  fourth  at  4  P.  M.,  and  the  fifth  just  be- 
fore retiring.  2.  I  will  endeavor  to  read  three  chapters,  and 
commit  at  least  five  verses  daily.  3.  I  am  resolved  to  spend 
at  least  some  portion  of  each  day  in  self-examination.  4.  Re- 
specting my  actions — (1)  I  am  resolved  to  commit  no  known 
sin ;  (2)1  will  omit  no  known  duty.  5.  I  am  resolved  to  be 
watchful ;  to  watch  constantly  against  the  enemies  of  my  soul, 
and  against  all  evil  thoughts  and  idle  words.  And  finally,  I 
will  endeavor,  at  all  times  and  places  and  under  all  circum- 
stances, to  observe  that  rule  given  by  the  apostle  when  he 
says:  'Whether,  therefore,  ye  eat  or  drink,  or  whatsoever  ye 
do,  do  all  to  the  glory  of  God;'  and  each  night,  before  I  re- 
tire, I  will  call  myself  to  an  account  respecting  the  observance 
of  these  rules. 

"  November  2S.  I  would  be  so  perfectly  united  to  Christ 
that  his  blood  may  circulate  all  through  me,  as  the  sap  of  a 
living  vine  through  the  branches.  I  would  have  such  a  com- 
munication open  between  Christ  and  my  heart,  as  shall  en- 
tirely cast  out  sin  from  my  heart,  and  exclude  it  forever." 

Shortly  after  passing  his  seventeenth  birthday  he 
began  teaching  a  district  school  in  the  adjoining  town 
of  Brookfield.  An  old  lady,  who  remembers  him  as 
he  was  at  this  time,  recalls  his  habit  of  practicing  on 
the  bass-viol,  and  also  that  she  found  him  one  day 
deeply  absorbed  in  reading  the  '^  Merry  Wives  of 
Windsor.''  He  experienced  the  usual  cares  and  per- 
plexities of  a  young  school-master,  yet  he  recorded,  at 
the  close  of  the  terra,  his  thankfulness  that  improving 
health  permitted  him  to  engage  in  the  useful  activities 
of  life. 


EARLY  RELIGIOUS  LIFE.  33 

On  March  2,  1848,  he  was  received  into  the  church 
in  full  connection,  and  a  few  days  afterward,  com- 
menced attending  school  at  Chelsea  village,  which 
boasted  a  small  academy.  At  his  boarding-place,  for 
the  first  time  in  his  life,  he  enjoys  the  daily  privilege 
of  joining  in  family  prayers.  He  is  surprised  that 
the  class-meetings  are  so  thinly  attended,  considering 
the  large  numbers  of  church  members,  and  does  not 
understand  how  a  Methodist  can  absent  himself  from 
this  invaluable  means  of  grace.  He  says:  ^'If  I 
know  my  own  heart,  my  desire  is  for  religion,  and 
the  blessings  it  confers,  in  preference  to  any  and  all 
other  blessings.''  At  the  close  of  this  term,  he  speaks 
of  it  as  the  first  term,  for  three  years,  which  he  has 
attended  without  injury  to  his  health. 

In  an  entry,  dated  May  23d,  he  speaks  of  reading 
the  rules  which  he 'had  adopted,  and  finds  that  they 
have  been  too  much  neglected.  He  still  intends  to 
carry  out  their  spirit,  though  he  may  not  be  able  to 
follow  them  to  the  letter.  During  this  summer  he 
had  his  first  experience  of  an  annual  conference.  On 
Sunday,  July  9th,  he  listened  to  a  sermon  by  Bishop 
Hedding,  froai  1  Timothy  iv,  10.  He  says:  "The 
bishop  gave  a  brief  but  interesting  history  of  his  life,  as 
far  as  his  conversion  and  the  commencement  of  his 
ministry  were  concerned,  and  then  proceeded  to  his 
discourse,  from  what  he  said  was  the  first  text  he  ever 
used."  The  boy-critic  adds:  "His  remarks  were 
sound  and  weighty,  and  characterized  by  much 
mental  acumen."  No  one  could  enjoy  this  bit  of 
patronizing  criticism  more  than  the  author  of  it  in 
his  later  life. 


34  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 

The  following  entry  marks  a  most  important 
epoch,  as  it  gives  the  first  intimation  of  his  desire  for 
a  thorough  education,  and  of  his  thoughts  concerning 
the  ministry : 

'■'■  August  o.  I  am  highly  favored  this  summer  with  respect 
to  my  health,  so  that  I  am  able  to  study  considerably,  and 
engage  in  light  manual  labor  to  some  extent.  I  regard  it  my 
privilege  and  duty  to  acquire  a  good  education,  should  circum- 
stances permit,  and  for  this  I  am  striving  daily.  I  know  not 
what  employment  my  Lord  will  assign  me  in  future  life,  but 
I  frequently  look  forward  with  some  anxiety,  and  perhaps 
with  vain  conjectures.  My  mind  has  been  frequently  directed 
toward  the  holy  ministry ;  but  I  almost  fear  it  is  sacrilege  to 
indulge  a  thought  concerning  it,  believing,  as  I  do,  that  it 
should  not  be  entered  by  human  caprice,  but  only  by  a  special 
divine  call.  I  have  sometimes  tried  to  forbid  my  mind  to 
dwell  on  this  subject,  but  I  can  not." 

In  the  autumn  of  1848  he  taught  in  the  old  school- 
house  on  the  West  Hill,  where  he  had  received  his 
own  earlier  education.  He  expresses  profound  grati- 
tude that  he  has  health  to  engage  in  purposes  of  use- 
fulness. In  the  winter  of  the  same  year  he  taught 
again  in  Brookfield. 


A  T  NE IVB  UR  Y  AND  CONCORD.  85 


CHAPTER   IV. 

SCHOOL-DAYS  AT  NEWBURY  AND  CONCORD. 
1848-1853. 

WE  have  seen  that  at  eighteen  years  of  age  Fran- 
cis Hemenway  had  iraprcved  health,  an  in- 
creasing desire  for  a  thorough  education,  and  serious 
thoughts  concerning  a  call  to  the  ministry.  His 
teaching,  to  procure  tlie  means  for  a  higher  educa- 
tion, was  in  accordance  with  the  custom  of  the  time. 
Tradition  has  preserved  a  significant  incident  of  this 
early  apprenticeship  as  teacher.  The  big  boys  in  one 
of  the  schools,  hearing  a  rumor  that  the  new  master 
was  intending  to  open  the  morning  session  with 
prayer,  leagued  together  to  make  a  disturbance;  but 
the  young  teacher's  prayer  was  so  manly,  tender,  and 
appropriate  that  the  plot  was  at  once  abandoned. 

The  spring  of  1849  introduced  him  into  a  larger 
world,  whose  influences  were  potent  in  developing 
his  character  and  talents,  and  shaping  his  future. 
At  that  time  he  entered  the  conference  seminary  at 
Newbury.  Both  the  place  and  the  school  became 
very  dear  to  him.  The  village  itself  possesses  rare 
charms.  Built  upon  a  high  terrace  of  the  Connecti- 
cut, its  long  street  follows  the  direction  of  the  river, 
while  two  shorter  streets,  at  right  angles,  mark  out 
the  village  green.     On  the  west  side  of  this  common 


36  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

stand  the  seminary  building  and  the  Methodist 
church,  back  of  which  rises  the  steep  side  of  Mount 
Pulaski.  The  view  eastward  is  one  of  the  fairest  in 
all  picturesque  New  England.  Beyond  the  quiet 
hamlet  are  spread  broad  and  fertile  meadows,  through 
which  the  Connecticut  sweeps  in  a  series  of  graceful 
curves.  Wooded  hills  across  the  river  reveal  here 
and  there  a  prosperous  village,  while  along  the  east- 
ern horizon  extends  a  range  of  noble  mountains,  from 
the  ragged  outlines  of  Lafayette,  on  the  north,  to 
Moosilauke,  lifting  his  gigantic  shoulders  in  massive 
and  magnificent  beauty  on  the  south.  Without  ques- 
tioning the  wisdom  of  the  subsequent  removal  of  the 
seminary  to  Montpelier,  no  Methodist  can  fail  to  re- 
gret the  necessity  of  abandoning  this  charming  place, 
which,  in  summer  at  least,  is  little  less  than  an  earthly 
paradise.  The  seminary,  attracting  students  at  that 
time  both  from  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont,  was 
ir^  a  very  prosperous  condition.  '^If  there  is  any 
happy  combination  of  circumstances  on  earth,"  wrote 
the  young  student,  "calculated  to  assist  our  concep- 
tion of  heaven,  it  is  surely  to  be  found  at  Newbury.'' 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph  E.  King,  now  at  the  head  of 
Fort  Edward  Collegiate  Institute,  was  principal,  and 
the  late  Professor  Henry  S.  Noyes  was  one  of  the 
teachers.  The  buildings  and  other  appliances  of  the 
seminary  would  seem  meager  now ;  but  the  men  in 
charge,  from  its  beginning,  had  fixed  a  high  standard 
both  of  scholarship  and  piety.  Enthusiasm  for  edu- 
cation and  religion  pervaded  the  place.  Besides  that 
of  men  already  mentioned,  it  had  felt  the  inspiring 
influence  of  Osmon  C.  Baker,  Charles  Adams,  John 


A  r  NE  WB  UR  Y  AND  CONCORD.  37 

Dempster,  and  Clark  T.  Hinman,  who  had  established 
here  in  1845  the  first  theological  school  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  which,  two  years  later,  was 
removed  to  Concord,  N.  H.  The  ardent  and  heroic 
spirit  of  pioneer  days  animated  both  teachers  and 
students.  Almost  every  term  witnessed  a  revival  of 
religion,  in  which  many  students  were  converted  and 
the  Christian  workers  were  trained  for  future  service. 
Two  entries  in  his  journal  show  the  purposes  with 
which  Francis  began  his  life  here,  and  the  impres- 
sion which  this  large  company  of  Christian  young 
people  made  upon  him  : 

^'February  26,  1849.  I  have  come  to  Newbury  to  spend 
the  spring  term  at  the  seminary.  I  expect  to  enjoy  many 
privileges — educational  and  religious — and  I  pray  that  this 
may  be  a  season  of  improvement  in  every  way,  that  in  all 
things  I  may  grow  up  into  Christ  my  living  Head." 

"  March  1.  Attended  the  seminary  class-meeting,  where  a 
very  large  number  was  assembed.  How  delightful  to  see  so 
many  young  people  who  are  willing  to  take  upon  themselves 
the  yoke  of  Christ!" 

Amid  these  new  scenes  and  influences  his  own  re- 
ligious life  is  greatly  quickened.  He  records  hearing 
"an  excellent  and  moving  discourse  on  Zech.  xii,  10, 
by  Professor  Hinman,'^  from  which  he  expects  abun- 
dant fruit.  The  next  Sunday  he  goes  from  public 
service  to  the  band-meeting,  and  thence  to  prayer- 
meeting.  At  the  last,  nine  came  forward  for  prayers. 
This  was  on  the  first  of  April.  On  the  third,  nine 
more  rose  for  prayers;  on  the  eighth,  twelve;  on  the 
fifteenth,  seven  or  eight.  On  the  sixteenth  of  May 
he  wrote  :  "  The  work  of  revival  in  the  seminary  still 


38  *      BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

continues."  To  one  who  loved  both  religion  and 
study  ardently  these  surroundings  were  most  con- 
genial ;  and  amid  them  he  increased  in  wisdom  "  and 
in  favor  with  God  and  man." 

In  the  summer  vacation  he  expressed  to  his  pastor 
thoughts  concerning  his  life-work  which  he  had  be- 
fore committed  to  no  other  confidant  than  his  journal. 
The  subject  of  the  ministry,  he  said,  had,  at  times, 
pressed  with  great  weight  upon  his  mind.  Mr.  Hill 
assured  him  that  it  had  been  his  impression,  and  that 
of  others  in  the  church,  that  he  was  divinely  called 
to  that  work. 

The  autumn  of  1849  was  spent  at  Newbury  in 
study,  and  the  winter  at  Williamstown  in  teaching. 
The  following  entry  describes  his  final  decision  with 
regard  to  his  life-work.  The  meeting  referred  to  was 
held  in  the  old  parsonage  at  Williamstown : 

'^January  13,  ISJO,  I  have  had  deep  anxiety  for  a  long 
tinae  with  regard  to  the  ministry,  to  which  I  have  before  al- 
luded, and  I  set  apart  last  week  for  especial  prayer  on  that 
subject,  if  by  any  means  I  might  obtain  satisfactory  light 
with  regard  to  my  duty.  I  have  long  entertained  the  impres- 
sion that  it  would  be  my  calling,  and  that  it  was  my  present 
duty  to  prepare  for  it,  but  as  yet  I  was  unsatisfied  with  regard 
to  it.  In  this  state  of  mind  I  remained  until  to-night,  though 
seeming  gradually  to  approach  an  affirmative  decision.  I 
went  to  the  meeting  praying  for  some  convincing  manifesta- 
tion of  duty.  I  had  not  long  been  there  before  I  began  to 
feel  the  especial  workings  of  the  Spirit,  while,  at  the  same 
time,  this  subject  came  up  before  me.  Soon  it  assumed  the 
aspect  of  present  duty,  and,  regarding  it  as  such,  I  commenced 
mentally  an  act  of  personal  dedication.  I  was  interrupted  by 
the  singing  of  the  hymn,  *  When  for  the  eternal  worlds,'  etc., 
which  seemed  as  a  celestial  voice.  Again  I  dedicated  myself, 
which  done,  they  sang  the   verse,   *  Prone  to  wander,'   etc., 


A  T  NE  WB  UR  Y  AND  CONCORD.  39 

every  word  of  which  was  in  harmony  with  my  feeUngs.  Thus, 
by  this  act,  am  I  the  Lord's  in  an  especial  sense.  May  I  draw 
still  closer  to  him  !" 

In  March  he  was  again  at  Newbury,  where  the 
spring  term  was  marked  by  another  revival.  In  May 
he  had  his  first  experience  in  leading  class,  of  which 
he  quaintly  says:  ''Contrary  to  reasonable  human 
expectation,  I  had  a  tolerably  good  season.'' 

On  June  16th  he  attended  the  Sabbath  exercises 
of  the  conference  at  Bradford.  He  describes  the 
conference  love-feast  and  the  testimonies  of  the^  vet- 
eran ministers  with  delighted  enthusiasm.  He  heard 
Bishop  Morris  preach  in  the  grove  "a  very  instruct- 
ive and  practical  discourse  from  the  text,  '  Cease  to 
do  evil.'" 

During  the  winter  vacation  of  1850-51  Mr.  Hem- 
enway  traveled  through  Orange  County,  introducing 
a  new  series  of  text-books  into  the  schools.  His  jour- 
nal was  neglected,  and  the  regularity  of  his  religious 
exercises  interrupted,  yet  he  found  this  new  mode  of 
life  not  unfavorable  to  religious  experience. 

On  February  13th  he  records  his  recommendation 
by  the  class  for  an  exhorter's  license.  The  following 
entries  describe  his  first  experiences  as  a  preacher: 

"  What  a  solemn  thing  it  is  to  stand  between  God  and 
man !  I  have  consented  to  speak  to  the  people  Tuesday  night 
before  I  leave  for  Newbury.  May  it  be  in  simplicity,  and  as- 
sisted by  the  Holy  Spirit's  influence! 

^'February  IS.  Found  an  unexpectedly  large  number 
assembled,  to  whom  I  had  a  good  degree  of  liberty  in  speak- 
ing, and  am  sure,  by  the  united  prayers  of  the  praying  ones, 
the  presence  of  the  Most  High  overshadowed  us.  Many  ap- 
peared affected.  Three  rose  for  prayers.  May  this  first  seed, 
sown  in  tears  and  weakness,  produce  abundant  fruit!" 


40  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

A  friend,  who  was  present  at  this  latter  service, 
remembers  that  he  gave  out  as  the  first  hymn,  "  Sol- 
diers of  the  Cross,  arise,"  which  he  started  himself 
to  the  tune  of  "  Caledonia." 

Once  more  he  returns  to  Newbury  for  his  last 
term  as  a  student  there.  On  March  23d  he  preached 
his  first  Sabbath  sermon  at  North  Haverhill,  from  the 
text,  "  The  effectual  fervent  prayer  of  a  righteous 
man  availeth  much."  He  says :  ^^  It  was  to  me  a 
memorable  time,  and  also  a  good  time."  The  Rev. 
Mr.  Cushing  was  with  him.  The  next  Sunday  he 
consented  to  '^  improve  a  part  of  the  day "  at  Swift- 
borough,  where  he  had  more  freedom  and  less  embar- 
rassment than  before.  The  next  Sabbath  he  preached 
at  South  Newbury,  with  special  freedom,  which  he  at- 
tributed to  two  causes:  '^  1.  I  was  enabled  to  resign 
myself  more  implicitly  into  the  hands  of  God,  and 
rely  more  fully  on  his  power.  2.  My  subject  was 
better  matured  and  more  familiar." 

The  term  passed  pleasantly.  He  enjoyed  the 
work  in  school,  and  apparently  even  more  his  Sab- 
bath labors  in  the  little  churches  and  school-houses 
of  the  vicinity.  Throughout  his  school-days  at  New- 
bury he  maintained  high  rank  as  a  talented  and  in- 
dustrious student.  He  was  one  of  those  selected  by 
the  authorities  for  occasional  service  as  tutor.  The 
reputation  achieved  at  the  home  lyceum  as  a  speaker 
and  writer  was  increased  at  the  seminary.  When 
he  finished  his  course  at  Newbury  in  May,  1851, 
he  left  with  an  enviable  record  and  with  sincere 
regret. 

The  following  summer  was  spent  at  home.     His 


A  T  NE  WB  UR  Y  AND  CONCORD.  4 1 

journal  shows  that  he  preached  several  times,  and 
with  increasing  enjoyment.  The  part  he  took  in  a 
Fourth  of  July  celebration  of  the  Lyceum  caused  him 
some  uneasiness,  ^'because  of  the  prejudice  which  is 
abroad  in  this  immediate  vicinity  against  literary  so- 
cieties and  every  thing  connected  with  them."  He 
adds :  ^^  I  fully  believe  it  to  be  a  Christian's  duty  to 
deny  himself  sometimes,  in  view  of  the  consciences 
of  his  brethren  ;  but  in  this  matter,  after  looking  at 
it  carefully  and  considering  my  obligations  to  all 
classes,  it  did  not  seem  that  any  departure  from  my 
own  ideas  of  right  and  propriety  was  required." 
August  29th  he  left  home  to  teach  in  Waitsiield,  and 
w^rote  :  '^  I  shall  not  probably  return  to  it  again  until, 
in  a  certain  sense,  it  shall  cease  to  be  my  home.  I 
love  my  home,  passionately  love  it." 

After  preaching  for  the  first  time  in  Waitsfield, 
he  says  :  "  There  are  a  thousand  sources  of  uneasiness 
as  I  appear  before  a  public  congregation;  but  the 
greatest  is  lest,  for  some  reason,  my  ministry  should 
not  be  efficient — lest,  by  some  apparent  inconsistency 
which  may  have  been  seen  in  me,  the  word  should 
be  neutralized,  and  fail  of  producing  its  legitimate 
effect.  I  pray  that  I  may  be  holy,  discreet,  entirely 
freed  from  everything  which  would  operate,  in  any 
manner,  as  a  hindrance  to  the  word  of  God." 

In  October  he  received  news  of  the  death  of  his 
intimate  friend  and  former  room-mate,  A.  K.  Carter. 
Obliged  to  go  immediately  to  the  school-room,  he 
gave  out  the  hymn  : 

"O,  what  is  life? 
'Tis  like  a  flower  that  blossoms  and  is  gone," 
4 


42  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

*'  to  be  sung  to  that  favorite  tune  of  mine,  Stepney.'' 
He  says  of  this  friend :  ^^  From  our  first  meeting  our 
sympathies,  secrets,  and  hearts  seemed  to  flow  spon- 
taneously together.  We  were  bound  together  by  the 
strongest  and  most  sacred  ties  of  sanctified  friend- 
ship. Had  he  lived  he  would  most  certainly,  it  seems 
to  me,  have  become  a  minister  of  great  usefulness. '^ 

On  his  twenty-first  birthday  he  reviews  his  bless- 
ings and  anticipates  the  future  : 

"  I  am  oftentimes  tempted  to  despond,  yet  as  often  en- 
couraged to  hope.  From  the  responsibilities  which  may  prob- 
ably devolve  upon  me  in  future,  should  I  live,  I  ofttimes 
shrink,  yet  the  promise  is  always  available:  *  My  grace  is 
suflScient  for  thee.'  May  I  be  sanctified  and  fully  prepared 
for  all  the  will  of  God !  If  I  know  my  own  heart,  my  ambi- 
tion is  not  to  be  great  nor  honored  nor  famous,  but  to  be 
just  what  the  Lord  would  have  me  be.  O  that  I  may  be 
able  to  acknowledge  the  Lord  in  all  my  ways,  that  he  may 
direct  my  paths!" 

He  was  recalled  to  teach  the  winter  district  school 
at  Waitsfield,  and  received  no  little  discipline  him- 
self in  this  work,  which  'tests  about  all  one's  powers 
of  ingenuity  and  endurance.  He  had  forty  scholars, 
and  over  thirty  exercises  a  day.  One  morning  he 
was  called  from  the  school-room  to  see  a  young  man 
who  was  lying  upon  his  death-bed.  The  conversion 
of  this  man  stirred  him  profoundly,  and  he  preached 
his  funeral  sermon  with  deep  emotion  and  ''  unusual 
liberty.'' 

In  a  letter  of  December  16,  1851,  he  asks  of  a  dear 
friend:  ''Do  you  think  it  best,  all  things  considered, 
for  me  to  go  to  Concord  in  the  spring?"  In  Janu- 
nary,  1852,  he  wrote   to   the   Rev.  Justin  Spaulding, 


AT  NEWB UR Y  AND  CONCORD.  43 

asking  advice  on  this  matter.     The  letter  describing 
the  correspondence  says: 

"  He  knows  something  about  me  and  almost  everything 
about  the  Methodist  itinerancy.  He  himself  is  a  self-made 
man,  yet  a  close  student.  He  gives  his  decided  opinion  in 
favor  of  entering  the  Institute,  and  assigns  ^even  reasons,  the 
substance  of  which  is:  In  order  for  one  to  be  prepared  to  ful- 
fill the  mission  of  the  Methodist  minister,  one  must  possess  a 
cultivated  intellect,  a  mind  prepared  to  meet  and  grapple  with 
the  various  engines  which  Satan  may  use  to  advance  his  work, 
a  mind  furnished  with  knowledge  which  shall  answer  to  the 
present  improved  state  of  society.  The  opportunities  for  that 
close,  consecutive  study  which  alone  can  make  us  what  we 
should  be  are  very  small  on  a  circuit  or  station.  He  also 
noticed  the  objection  that  an  educated  ministry  will  be  a 
proud  and  lazy  ministry,  urging,  in  answer,  that  the  most 
humble  and  active  ministers  in  the  Church  have  been  the  best 
educated.  I  have  not,  as  yet,  reconsidered  that  question,  but 
do  not  know  but  I  shall  to-morrow.  Pray  for  me,  that  the 
Lord,  by  his  counsel,  may  guide  me.  I  have  just  commenced 
reading  Upham's  '  Interior  Life,'  of  w^hich,  perhaps,  you  may 
have  heard  me  speak.  Already  my  soul  burns  more  ardently 
for  holiness.  I  am  daily  convinced  that  I  know  too  little  of  the 
deep  things  of  God  to  be  prepared  to  explain  them  properly 
to  others." 

His  presiding  elder  strenuously  6pposed  his  going 
to  the  Biblical  Institute,  yet,  influenced  by  Mr.  Spaul- 
ding's  sensible  advice,  and  his  own  high  ideal  of  a 
minister's  requirements,  he  decided  to  take  a  theolog- 
ical course.  The  first  of  March,  1852,  found  him  in 
Concord.  A  letter  describes  his  first  meeting  with 
Dr.  Dempster : 

"  Concord,  March  S,  1852.  Arriving  at  this  place  a  perfect 
stranger,  as  I  was,  I  had  myself  driven  immediately  to  the  In- 
stitute boarding-house,  where  I  found  a  Brother  Moore  in 
charge.     He  directed  me  to  Dr.  Dempster.     I  went  and  rang 


44  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

the  bell  at  his  door,  and  was  conducted  by  a  young  lady  into 
the  sitting-room,  where  she  left  me,  telling  me  she  would  call 
Dr.  Dempster,  who  would  soon  be  in.  I  was  alone,  awaiting  with 
palpitating  heart  the  appearance  of  the  great  Dr.  Dempster, 
whom  I  had  imagined  to  be  not  only  great  in  mind  and  name, 
but  in  body  too.  I  was  expecting  to  see  a  large,  bland,  portly- 
looking  Doctor  of  Divinity.  Imagine,  then,  my  surprise  when 
a  small,  quite  ordinary-looking  man,  dressed  in  the  plainest 
and  oldest  style,  appeared,  calling  himself  Dr.  Dempster.  He 
received  me  very  cordially,  and  gave  me  all  the  information 
necessary  for  me." 

He  describes  the  Institute  as  located  ^^  in  a  retired 
part  of  the  village,  entirely  removed  from  the  noise 
and  bustle,  yet  situated  at  the  head  of  the  two  prin- 
cipal streets,  and  especially  convenient  of  access  to 
all  parts  of  the  village.''  The  lofty  elm-trees  lining 
the  streets  are  a  great  attraction.  We  may  get  a 
glimpse  of  him  at  work.  He  says :  "  Improvement 
is  now  with  me  the  paramount  aim."  On  April  15, 
1852,  he  writes : 

"  Since  I  last  wrote  I  have  been  at  work  with  all  my 
might  taking  in  pieces  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  languages,  and 
dissecting  Butler's  and  Watson's  Theology,  so  that  I  am  now 
almost  covered  with  rubbish.  In  Greek  we  are  reading  the 
Gospels  harmonized ;  in  Hebrew  we  are  now  in  the  third 
chapter  of  Genesis.  We  have  been  translating  Hebrew  but  a 
short  time,  yet  I  think  it  is  quite  an  easy  language,  although 
its  characters  appear  so  unintelligible.  In  theology  we  have 
a  lecture  one  day  and  recite  the  next.  Dr.  Dempster  is  now 
delivering  a  course  of  lectures  on  the  connection  of  geology 
with  revelation.  His  last  was  respecting  the  universality  of 
the  Flood.     He  takes  the  negative  position. 

"  I  preached  last  Sabbath  to  an  Orthodox*  congregation 


-Some  readers  may  not  know  that  in  New  England  "Orthodox" 
is  commonly  used  to  distinguish  the  Trinitarian  from  the  Unitarian 
Congregationalists. 


AT  NEWBURY  AND  CONCORD.  45 

in  an  Orthodox  meeting-house  in  Loudon,  about  seven  miles 
from  this  place.  The  Lord  was  with  me.  I  had  a  blessed 
season.  I  am  to  go  there  next  Sabbath.  My  turn  will  come 
to  preach  before  the  school  two  weeks  from  to-morrow,  at 
nine  o'clock.  Let  me  then  have  an  especial  interest  in  your 
prayers." 

He  leads  a  class  in  the  village,  and  preaches  fre- 
quently in  Concord,  Barnstead,  Hookset,  and  other 
neighboring  towns.  This  work  he  enjoys  more  and 
more. 

**  It  is  blessed  to  feel  that  we  are  accomplishing  the  im- 
portant work  of  the  evangelist.  I  mean  not  merely  to  go 
through  the  formality  of  preaching,  and  contemplate  a  de- 
lighted congregation  hanging  upon  your  words,  if  by  chance 
it  should  be  so,  but  to  know  that  God  is  sending  out  his 
word  through  you,  with  the  certain  promise  that  '  it  shall  ac- 
complish that  whereunto  it  is  sent.' 

^^  June  19,  1852.  I  am  enjoying  myself  very  greatly  here 
this  summer.  I  have  plenty  of  work,  agreeable  companions, 
convenient  accommodations,  and  the  blessing  of  God.  I 
have  but  a  single  object  in  view  in  all  my  \abors,— immediately ^ 
my  preparation  for  the  work  of  the  ministry;  ultimately,  the 
glory  of  God  ;  and  while  I  have  the  evidence  that  this  end  is 
being  answered,  I  can  not  but  feel  satisfied.  I  am  thankful 
that  I  ever  came  to  Concord ;  that,  green  as  I  was,  I  did  not 
conclude  to  take  upon  myself  immediately  the  responsibility 
of  performing  the  work  of  the  Christian  minister. 

In  writing  of  his  theological  instructors  he  speaks 
of  Professor  Baker  as  ''a  modest,  quiet,  easy,  good- 
natured,  corpulent  man,  but  a  most  7ngid  Greek 
teacher.'^  Professor  Vail  "  is  considered  a  Hebrew 
scholar  of  the  highest  order.''  Dr.  Dempster  "  is  a 
man  full  of  thought,  and  is  very  suggestive  in  all  his 
teaching.  In  the  department  of  mental  and  moral 
science  he  is  the  greatest  man  I  ever  knew.''     As  to 


46  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

the  students,  though  "there  must  of  necessity,  among 
a  company  of  forty  human  beings,  be  some  things  to 
which  the  fastidious  might  take  exceptions,"  yet  he 
is  convinced  that  the  fears  concerning  a  decline  in 
religion  among  theological  students  are  baseless,  and 
that  the  "sacred  fire  does  burn  here  in  its  purity." 
He  boards  in  a  club,  and  gives  the  assessment  for  one 
week  as  one  dollar  and  sixty-one  cents.  In  August 
he  listens  to  lectures  on  the  Discipline  by  Professor 
Baker,  already  elected  bishop,  and  performing  his 
last  service  in  the  Institute. 

By  November  he  has  received  a  temporary  ap- 
pointment at  Pittsiield,  and  begun  his  first  pastoral 
experience.  He  feels  an  "especial  sense  of  weak- 
ness" in  making  pastoral  calls,  and  yet  believes  that 
"at  least  half  of  the  preacher's  work  lies  in  this  di- 
rection." The  winter  passed  pleasantly  and  success- 
fully, and  in  the  spring  he  returned  to  Concord. 

In  May,  of  1853,  at  the  Conference  which  met  at 
Newport,  N.  H.,  he  heard  an  excellent  sermon  from 
Bishop  Janes ;  and  from  Abel  Stevens  a  speech, 
which  he  had  "rarely,  if  ever,  heard  equaled."  His 
topic  was  "  The  Tract  Cause,"  and,  in  response,  over 
$1,200  were  pledged  by  the  preachers  for  themselves 
and  their  charges. 

He  now  has  applications  for  preaching  which 
would  fill  all  his  Sabbaths  two  or  three  times  over, 
and  finally  arranges  to  preach  regularly  at  Hill  and 
Barnstead.  In  June  he  is  present  at  a  musical  con- 
vention, conducted  by  Lowell  Mason.  A  letter  writ- 
ten this  summer  indicates  two  prominent  traits,  which 
all    his   students    will    remember.     It    speaks    of   his 


AT  NE  WB UR Y  AND  CONCORD.  47 

"  love   for  perspicuity  and   systematic   arrangement," 
and  discusses  the  proper  pronunciation  of  *^  Goethe." 
In  July  he  attended  the  Commencement  exercises 
at  Dartmouth  College. 

"Wednesday  morning  last  took  the  cars  for  Hanover — 
Dartmouth  College.  .  .  .  The  *  natives '  had  already  begun 
to  assemble,  so  that  when  we  arrived  the  peddlers'  carts,  vic- 
tualing tents,  and  'congregated  thousands'  told,  in  language 
unmistakable,  that  Hanover  was  realizing  a  signal  day.  The 
announcement  that  the  Hon.  Rufus  Choate  would  speak  on 
that  day  had  called  together  an  unusually  large  number  to  at- 
tend the  exercises.  As  the  exercises  were  not  to  commence 
till  9.30,  after  seeking  out  my  special  friends,  I  went  with  them 
to  visit  the  curiosities  of  the  college  cabinet,  libraries,  etc. 
Quite  interesting.  At  9.30  the  procession  was  formed  at  the 
college  chapel  to  march  to  the  church,  where  the  first  address 
was  to  be  delivered.  Falling  into  the  procession,  as  all  'pro- 
fessional gentlemen'  and  'distinguished  guests  '  were  requested 
to  do,  after  more  jamming  than  I  ever  before  suffered  in  the 
same  length  of  time,  I  succeeded  in  entering  the  church.  A 
very  good  address  was  then  delivered  by  Hon.  Ogden  Hoffman, 
of  New  York.  At  3.20  P.  M.  a  procession  was  again  formed,  to 
be  conducted  to  the  church.  Never  before  have  I  seen  such 
a  press  to  gain  admission.  A  very  strong  police  force  had  to 
exert  itself  to  the  utmost  to  prevent  the  people  from  rushing 
in  en  masi^e  even  before  the  'dignitaries'  were  admitted.  Mr. 
Choate  spoke  between  two  and  three  hours.  Subject,  '  Eulogy 
on  Daniel  Webster.'  The  elocution  and  oratory  were  good; 
but  Webster,  mere  man  as  he  was,  was  almost  deified. 

"Thursday  was  the  regular  day  for  the  graduation  exer- 
cises. Between  twenty  and  thirty  young  men  spoke.  About 
fifty  graduated.  The  exercises  were  quite  interesting— more 
so  to  me,  as  a  whole,  than  those  of  the  day  before. 

"  Some  distinguished  guests  were  present  at  the  exercises— 
Hon.  .John  Wentworth,  of  IlUnois,  commonly  called  'Long 
John'  (seven  feet  in  his  stockings).  Dr.  Mussey,  Rev.  Dr. 
Barstow,  and  others  too  numerous  to  mention.  I  saw  quite 
a  large  number  of  the  old  Newbury  students." 


48  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

In  October  he  visited  an  Adventist  camp-meet- 
ing, which  appears  to  him  ^^  a  sickening  exhibition  of 
the  fruit  of  ignorance/'  The  same  month  he  writes  : 
''  What  do  you  think  of  my  going  West  next  year  ? 
The  Doctor  [Dempster]  is  going  out  to  the  college  of 
which  he  is  president,  and  wishes  me  to  go  with 
him.  The  West  is  a  great  field,  you  know.  Would 
it  not  be  just  the  place  for  me?'' 

With  ten  others,  he  graduated  from  the  Concord 
Institute  in  1853.  As  the  Institute  afterwards  be- 
came the  School  of  Theology  of  the  Boston  Uni- 
versity, he  is,  in  this  sense,  an  alumnus  of  that  school. 
His  graduating  address  was  on  "The  Imperishable 
Record."     In  this  he  said  : 

"  The  true  testimonial  of  the  faithful  minister  is  not  to  be 
sought  in  the  favorable  notices  of  public  journals,  nor  the 
popular  voice  concerning  him,  nor  even  in  the  reported  con- 
versions, so  ardently  coveted.  His  true  record  is  found  in  the 
hearts  and  characters  which  he  is  iustrumental  in  molding 
into  the  image  of  the  heavenly.  Happy  shall  he  be  who 
shall  so  unite  in  his  character  human  excellence  with  divine 
grace,  that  he  shall  be  able  to  produce  upon  plastic  yet  im- 
mortal natures  impressions  so  true  and  beautiful  that  he  can 
confidently  appeal  to  them  before  the  judgment-seat  of  the 
Omniscient  One." 


PASTORATE  AT  MONTPELIER.  49 


CHAPTER  V. 

PASTORATE    AT    MONTPELIER. 
1854-1857. 

PKOBABLY  the  majority  of  young  men  who  have 
thus  far  been  educated  for  the  Methodist  minis- 
try, have  had  no  clearly  defined  boundary  between 
school-life  and  the  pastorate.  Apprenticeship  in 
preaching  and  pastoral  work  has  been  interwoven 
with  academical  and  theological  training.  This  course 
has  both  advantages  and  perils,  but  the  former  prob- 
ably preponderate.  The  experience  gained  by  the 
young  preacher  in  school-houses  and  little  churches, 
the  practical  knowledge  of  work  and  people  acquired 
in  actual  service,  is  of  inestimable  value.  However 
exact  scholarship  may  be  impeded,  there,  is,  ordi- 
narily, an  increase  of  zeal  for  useful  discipline  and 
available  acquisition.  The  temptations  lie  in  the  di- 
rection of  a  low  ideal  of  preaching,  a  failure  to  com- 
plete one's  course  of  study,  or  of  superficial  work  in 
the  theological  school.  Mr.  Hemenway  yielded  to 
none  of  these.  Although  he  graduated  in  the  autumn 
of  1853,  he  returned  to  Concord  in  the  spring  of 
1854,  to  complete  some  studies  which  had  been  inter- 
rupted by  enforced  absences. 

During  the  winter  of  1853-4   he    served    as  pas- 
toral   supply    at    Shelburne    Falls,    in    northwestern 


50  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

Massachusetts.  The  Methodist  church  in  this  pic- 
turesque and  prosperous  manufacturing  village  was 
regarded  an  important  one.  It  had  formerly  enjoyed 
the  ministrations  of  the  Rev.  William  Butler,  who 
became  afterwards  the  founder  of  Methodist  missions 
in  India  and  Mexico.  The  outgoing  pastor,  an  able 
and  eloquent  man,  had  been  convicted  of  untruthful- 
ness, and  suddenly  left  the  Methodist  ministry.  His 
defection  had  naturally  thrown  a  shadow  over  the 
congregation.  The  young  pastor  found  ^^the  church 
and  people  quite  a  burden  for  a  boy  to  carry. '^  His 
letters,  though  very  modest,  contain  abundant  proof 
that  he  won  the  admiration  and  love  of  the  people. 
They  gave  him  substantial  gifts,  and  urged  him  to 
remain  as  their  regular  pastor.  He  writes:  ''I  used 
to  think  of  the  pastoral  visiting  as  an  unpleasant 
work,  but  I  find  it  quite  the  reverse.  In  the  sick- 
room, especially,  our  religion  shines  with  a  superadded 
luster." 

In  February,  1854,  he  received  an  invitation  to 
become  teacher  of  Greek  and  Latin  in  a  seminary 
in  Fulton,  N.  Y.  About  the  first  of  March,  though 
urged  by  presiding  elder  and  people  to  remain  at 
Shelburne  Falls,  he  steadfastly  adhered  to  his  resolu- 
tion to  complete  his  studies  at  Concord.  He  found 
awaiting  him  there  an  invitation  to  join  the  New 
England  conference,  from  the  Rev.  Amos  Binney, 
presiding  elder  of  the  Charlestown  district.  ^'  So 
you  see,"  he  writes,  "  that  if  the  calls  of  the  church 
are  the  calls  of  God,  his  kingdom  is  divided  against 
itself.  There  are  openings  enough,  and  there  is  work 
enough.     The   greatest  point   is  grace  and  ability  to 


PASTORATE  AT  MONTPELIER.  51 

do  it."  A  letter  written  to  an  invalid  friend  at  this 
time  contains  this  characteristic  passage  :  ''  I  think  it 
my  province  to  proclaim  Scripture  to  you.  '  Be  careful 
for  nothing.^  Live  as  though  to  live  novj  was  all  your 
business.  Have  no  providence  for  the  future,  except 
what  you  have  in  that  very  thing;  i.  e.,  living  care- 
lessly. I  know  living  so  may  not  seem  to  consist 
with  one's  interests  religiously  or  intellectually,  but 
it  may  do  both.  AYhen  that  course  of  life  becomes  a 
duty,  and  is  allowed  as  such,  it  will  not  harm  us  in 
any  regard." 

April  15,  1854,  he  writes:  "I  have,  this  very 
morning,  had  a  long  talk  with  Bishop  Baker  with 
reference  to  my  further  course  for  one  or  two  years. 
He  decidedly  advises  me  to  join  conference,  as  the 
first  course ;  of  the  others,  I  '11  tell  you  when  I  see 
you.  Doctor  Dempster,  on  the  other  hand,  wishes 
me  to  go  West,  and  take  a  place,  or  as  he  calls  it,  a 
'  chair,'  in  an  institution  there.  Of  course  it  will  be 
my  privilege  to  ^  decide,  when  doctors  disagree.'  My 
present  opinion  is  that  the  chances  are  in  favor  of  my 
teaching  for  a  year  or  two,  and  that  the  place  will  be 
west  of  Vermont,  though  the  question  still  hangs  '  in 
even  scale.' " 

The  summer  of  '54  was  spent  in  preaching  and 
study,  and  in  visiting  friends  in  Chelsea,  Pittsfield, 
Barre,  and  other  places.  The  first  of  September 
found  him  at  Newbury  seminary  in  the  position  of  a 
teacher.  The  work  was  intended  to  be  temporary 
only,  and  rendered  advisable  on  Recount  of  his  health, 
which  work  and  study  had  somewhat  impaired.  There 
were  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  students,  and    he 


52  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 

taught  arithmetic,  grammar,  algebra,  geometry,  men- 
tal   philosophy,    reading,     Latin,     and     Greek.       In 

writing   about   the    teachers,    he    said :    "  Miss   

has  n't  quite  enough  sparMe  about  her  to  render  her- 
self available  to  the  fullest  extent.  What  a  desirable 
quality  of  character  is  assurajice — not  that  which  pro- 
duces forwardness,  but  that  which  enables  us  to  rest 
easily  in  the  right  place  !  Energy,  vivacity,  and  de- 
cision, as  it  seems  to  me,  depend  very  much  upon 
confidence  as  a  basis.  Prof.  Taverner,  *  a  distin- 
guished teacher  of  elocution,  has  been  with  us  for  the 
last  two  days.  His  terms  are  very  high — twenty  dol- 
lars for  a  course  of  private  lessons,  and  two  dollars 
and  a  half  for  admission  to  his  class.'' 

The  letters  indicate  that  Mr.  Hemenway  preached 
almost  every  Sunday  in  neighboring  towns.  But 
more  interesting  than  teaching  or  preaching  were  the 
plans  and  arrangements  for  his  approaching  marriage 
to  Miss  Sarah  L.  Bixby,  of  Chelsea.  They  had  now 
been  formally  engaged  for  four  years;  but  when  their 
attachment  began  it  would  have  been  difficult  for 
either  of  them  to  have  told.  The  families  had  long 
been  neighbors  and  friends.  As  children  they  had 
gone  together  to  the  old  school-house,  and  to  the 
meeting-house  on  the  hill.  Miss  Bixby's  father  had 
been  Francis  Hemenway's  class-leader  and  spiritual 
adviser  for  years.  The  two  young  people  had  also 
been  at  Newbury  as  students  together.     Companion- 


■'  This  unique,  peripatetic  teactier,  a  pliilosoplier  in  the  science  of 
reading,  was  at  Evanston  ifs  late  as  1884,  but  has  since  died.  Probably 
no  man  ever  gave  instruction  in  elocution  to  so  many  and  so  distin- 
guished ministers. 


PASTORATE  AT  MONTPELIER.  53 

ship,  sympathy  in  the  best  things,  and  friendship, 
gradually  ripened  into  a  devoted  love,  which  proved 
the  greatest  of  earthly  blessing  to  both,  and  endured 
all  tests.  The  one  shadow  which  darkened  these 
bright  days  is  described  in  a  letter  dated  October 
27,  1854.  After  speaking  of  the  beauties  of  the  Oc- 
tober scenery,  he  says:  '^Our  community  was  very 
much  saddened,  one  week  ago,  by  a  telegraphic  dis- 
patch announcing  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hinman, 
president-elect  of  the  North-western  University,  of 
which  Brother  Noyes  is  chosen  one  of  the  professors. 
His  funeral  was  attended  here  Tuesday.  Bishop 
Baker  preached  the  sermon.  The  four  teachers  were 
bearers.  It  was  a  very  solemn  time."  October 
31st  he  left  Newbury  for  Concord,  to  attend  the  first 
alumni  reunion  of  the  Concord  Institute. 

On  the  19th  of  November,  1854,  the  long-antici- 
pated marriage  ceremony  was  performed,  in  the  West 
Hill  meeting-house,  by  the  Rev.  Elisha  J.  Scott,  then 
presiding  elder  of  the  district.  The  young  couple 
established  their  home  in  pleasant  rooms  in  the  sem- 
inary boarding-house  at  Newbury.  During  a  pil- 
grimage, last  summer,  to  the  scenes  of  Dr.  Hem- 
enway's  early  life,  the  writer  spent  some  days  in 
Newbury,  and  stopped  in  this  building,  which  has 
now  been  transformed  into  Sawyer's  Hotel,  a  cool 
and  attractive  summer  hotel,  and,  by  a  strange  coin- 
cidence, was  assigned  to  these  very  rooms,  the  most 
pleasant  in  the  whole  house.  Here  began  a  home- 
life  which  ever  seemed  to  him,  and  the  nearest  friends 
who  knew  its  beauty,  as  near  the  highest  ideal  as 
can  be  hoped  for  this  side  heaven.     But  happy  lives 


54  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

and  the  steady  monotony  of  faithful  school  duties, 
however  significant  and  influential,  afford  little  mate- 
rial for  historian  or  biographer. 

The  next  spring  brought  an  important  change. 
May  28,  1855,  he  writes  from  Plainfield,  where  the 
Vermont  conference  is  in  session,  as  follows : 

"The  appointments  are  to  be  read  at  five  o'clock.  .  .  . 
I  suppose  the  die  is  now  cast !  My  appointment  you  will  find, 
among  others,  upon  the  inclosed  slip.*  It  can  not  be  more 
surprising  to  you  than  it  is  to  me ;  and  it  is  in  spite  of  my 
personal  remonstrance,  which  I  had  never  expected  to  ex- 
press, that  I  am  stationed  there.  Still,  now  it  is  done,  and 
can  not  be  remedied,  I  see  much  that  is  desirable  about  it. 
You  remember  the  pretty  parsonage,  and  know  what  a  pleas- 
ant home  it  may  be  for  our  first.  Quite  a  number  of  the  people 
have  expressed  themselves  in  favor  of  the  arrangement,  or, 
in  other  words,  petitioned  for  me." 

The  appointment  of  Mr.  Hemenway  to  the  State 
capital  was  unwelcome  to  the  seminary.  Professor 
Noyes  did  "  not  know  how  to  have  it  so.''  A  letter 
to  Bishop  Ames  is  contemplated  to  break  up  the  ar- 
rangement; but  it  is  a  fixed  fact,  and  irrevocable. 
Though  feeling  deeply  the  separation  and  the  added 
responsibilities,  he  writes  to  his  wife :  ''  Let  us  look 
to  the  bright  future.  I  shall  have  more  time  to 
devote  to  Biblical  and  theological  study  than  here- 
tofore.'' 

The  story  of  the  two  years'  pastorate  at  Montpe- 
lier  must  be  briefly  told.  Nature,  discipline,  and 
divine  grace  had  now  made  him  a  preacher  and  pas- 
tor of  rare  attractiveness.  His  sermons  were  clear- 
cut,   interesting,    helpful,    and   inspiring.     Congrega- 

*Montpelier,  Vt. 


PASTORATE  AT  MONTPELIER.  55 

tions  increased,  the  church  was  quickened,  and  souls 
were  saved.  By  his  manliness,  sympathy,  and  holy 
character  he  won  the  respect  of  all  classes  in  the 
community,  and  the  warm  affection  of  those  to 
whom  he  ministered.  He  devoted  himself  with  ar- 
dent enthusiasm  to  his  work  in  study,  pulpit,  and 
parish.  A  letter,  written  from  Montpelier  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1889,  bears  testimony  to  the  results  of  these 
labors : 

"  His  was  surely  a  marked  pastorate  in  the  history  of  this 
church.  There  are  not  a  few  living  still  who  can  bear  witness 
to  the  wealth  and  beauty  of  the  intellectual  treasures  he  lav- 
ished upon  this  people,  and  the  great  spiritual  power  which 
emanated  from  his  life.  Some  remember,  with  a  gratitude  too 
deep  for  words,  his  influence  while  here,  and  the  proofs  of  his 
continued  interest  given  long  afterward.  One  of  our  recent 
pastors  said,  in  alluding  to  Dr.  Hemenway,  whom  he  never 
personally  knew,  that  the  fruits  of  his  ministry  could  still  be 
seen  here  after  the  lapse  of  so  many  years." 

A  notable  event  in  the  home-life  at  Montpelier 
was  the  birth  of  the  first  child,  a  son,  born  December 
20,  1856,  and  named  Henry  Bixby.  New  springs 
of  thought  and  feeling  were  thus  opened  in  the 
father's  nature,  enriching  his  own  life  and  greatly  in- 
creasing his  usefulness. 

In  one  respect  only  was  the  young  pastor  unsuited 
for  the  work  before  him.  He  had  not  that  robust 
health  which  is  almost  essential  to  great  success  in  a 
city  pastorate.  And  the  work  was  very  taxing.  The 
ordinary  Sunday  services  began  with  preaching  at 
half-past  ten  in  the  morning.  This  was  followed  im- 
mediately by  the  Sunday-school,  at  which  the  pastor's 
presence  was  desired  and  most  desirable.     There  was 


56  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

preaching  again  aii:  half-past  one.  In  the  evening,  at 
early  candle-light,  there  was  held  a  mammoth  prayer- 
meeting,  for  which  special  preparation  was  necessary, 
and  which  brought  no  small  strain  to  the  tired  pas- 
tor's nerves.  In  the  winter  many  members  of  the 
legislature  were  constant  attendants  upon  his  minis- 
try, and  the  house  was  generally  packed  with  hear- 
ers. It  was  a  successful  pastorate,  but  the  success 
was  dearly  bought.  A  few  such  victories  would 
have  utterly  ruined  his  health.  He  completed 
the  full  term,  but  felt  obliged  to  ask  a  location  at 
its  close,  that  he  might  look  about  for  less  taxing 
work. 

Two  testimonials  to  his  great  service  to  his  people 
will  be  appropriate  here.  The  first  is  a  selection  from 
some  verses  contributed  to  a  local  paper.  They  are 
presented,  not  as  poetry,  but  as  a  hearty  and  worthy 
expression  of  the  impression  made  by  his  early  min- 
istry. They  were  written  by  the  daughter  of  a  lead- 
ing member  of  the  Church,  a  former  student  at 
Newbury  : 

"  Youth's  fair  light  was  on  his  forehead, 

Genius  flashing  from  his  eye, 
And  the  hopes  of  early  manhood 

In  his  heart  were  beating  high. 
Not  a  worn  and  weary  soldier, 

With  the  battle  almost  done ; 
But  a  young,  fresh-hearted  warrior, 

All  his  trophies  yet  unwon. 

God  had  lent  him  brilliant  talents, 
Which  could  charm  the  listening  throng ; 

Worldly  paths  had  often  wooed  him 
With  their  wildering,  siren  song; 


PASTORATE  AT  MONTPELIER.  57 

Bat  he  laid  each  fond  ambition 

Lowly  at  the  sacred  cross, 
Heeding  not  Fame's  proflered  laurels, 

Boldly  'counting  all  things  loss.' 


Words  of  life  seem  doubly  precious, 

Falling  from  his  hallowed  tongue, 
And  rich  treasures  of  affection 

From  his  people  hath  he  won. 
He  is  with  us  when  our  loved  ones. 

Earth-tired,  sink  to  dreamless  sleep, 
And  in  those  dark,  trying  moments 

He  can  *  weep  with  those  that  weep. 


Walking  close  with  God,  he  leadeth 

Tenderly  his  little  flock. 
Pointing,  when  the  storm-clouds  gather, 

To  the  '  Shadow  of  the  Rock.' 
Faithfully  he  does  his  mission, 

Faltering  never  by  the  way, 
Knowing  a  reward  awaits  him 

In  the  land  of  cloudless  day. 


Let  us  then,  when,  morn  and  evening, 

Bending  low  to  breathe  our  prayer, 
Ask  for  him,  our  youthful  pastor, 

Our  Good  Father's  kindly  care; 
That  life's  harvest-field  may  yield  him 

Golden  sheaves,  a  rich  reward. 
And  at  last  a  crown  of  glory — 

A  '  forever  with  the  Lord.'  " 

But  no  biography  of  a  Methodist  minister  would 
be  complete  without  a  view  of  his  gifts  and  graces 
from  the  stand-point  of  one  of  his  presiding  elders. 
Under  the  date  of  July  24,  1857,  the  lie  v.  P:iisha  J. 
Scott,    presiding    elder    of    the    Montpelier    district, 

5 


58  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

wrote  to  a  leading  member  of  the  East  Genesee  con- 
ference ; 

"Understanding  that  the  Rev.  F.  D.  Hemenway,  late  a 
member  of  the  Vermont  conference,  proposes  to  offer  himself 
for  readmission  into  the  traveling  connection  in  the  East  Gen- 
esee conference,  I  feel  it  a  privilege,  no  less  than  a  duty,  to 
furnish  you  such  a  representation  of  him  as  shall  enable  you 
to  introduce  him  fairly  and  truly  to  your  conference.  Brother 
Hemenway  is  believed  to  be  deeply  and  uniformly  pious,  and 
possessed  of  intellectual  powers  which  entitle  him  to  rank 
among  the  first  young  men  in  the  country.  Indeed,  he  exhib- 
its a  rare  ripeness,  intellectually,  for  one  of  his  age.  His  mind 
has  been  thoroughly  and  extensively  trained.  He  is  a  scholar 
in  the  best  sense  of  the  word.  It  may  properly  be  said  that 
he  has  a  liberal  education,  though  not  a  collegiate.  He  has 
passed  through  the  prescribed  course  of  studies  in  our  General 
Biblical  Institute,  and  graduated  with  its  highest  honors.  He 
does  not  regard  his  education  as  finished,  however,  but  is  an 
ardent  student — perhaps  too  much  so  for  his  delicate  constitu- 
tion. His  talents  as  a  preacher  are  of  a  superior  order.  Sound 
in  doctrine,  clear  and  eloquent  in  its  enunciation,  and  pleasing 
in  style  and  manner,  he  can  hardly  fail  to  be  popular.  The 
two  years  last  past  he  has  spent  in  this  place,  as  you  are  aware, 
and  to  say  he  has  been  highly  esteemed  and  universally  be- 
loved but  feebly  expresses  the  real  position  he  holds  among  us. 
Many  deeply  regret,  and  none  more  than  myself,  that  our 
law  does  not  allow  him  to  remain  longer.  The  conference 
consented  to  his  location,  with  a  view  to  his  removal  from  us, 
with  extreme  reluctance.  Nothing  but  a  belief  that  a  milder 
climate,  and  especially  that  your  system  of  ministerial  work 
would  contribute  to  his  health,  and  thus  promise  a  longer 
period  of  active  service  to  the  church,  reconciles  us  at  all  to 
his  removal.  We  need  many  just  such  men  in  Vermont.  He 
is  a  man  to  be  trusted  anywhere.  Whatever  he  does  is  well 
done. 

"Trusting  that  you  will  pardon  this  volunteer  representa- 
tion, I  am,"  etc. 

From  a  letter,  written  several  years  later  to  an 
intimate   friend   in    Montpelier,  we  get  a   satisfactory 


PASTORATE   AT  MONTPEIJER.  59 

glimpse  of  the  spirit  and  results  of  this  pastorate. 
He  had  just  learned  of  the  death  of  a  young  lady  of 
this  Church,  and  says: 

"There  has  been  no  moment  of  time  in  my  ministerial 
life,  filled  with  so  true  and  deep  a  joy  as  that  in  which  she 
said  to  me,  as  I  took  her  hand  to  bid  her  good-bye :  '  Brother 
Hemenway,  won't  you  pray  for  me  ?  I  wish  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian.' I  had  long  felt  that  she  stood  on  the  very  verge  of  life, 
but  in  my  extreme  fearfulness  I  dared  not  venture  to  address 
her  with  reference  to  personal  religion,  lest  I  should  break  the 
spell  that  seemed  to  be  drawing  her  to  the  Savior.  And  the 
bliss  of  that  glad  moment,  in  which  I  was  first  assured  of  her 
purpose  to  be  a  Christian,  was  the  truest  and  deepest  of  my 
ministerial  life.  Her  thoughtful  and  earnest  look,  wliich  had 
confronted  me  so  many  times  as  I  stood  in  the  sacred  desk, 
had  burned  itself  into  my  very  soul.  I  knew  that  she  was  an 
earnest  seeker  for  the  true  center  of  rest  and  the  unfailing  source 
of  consolation.  And  in  the  silence  of  this  night,  as  I  think  of 
her,  I  feel  a  gratitude  I  can  not  express,  but  which  fills  my 
eyes  with  tears  and  my  heart  with  joy  that  she  found  them." 


60  BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

NEW   FIELDS   AT  THE   WEST. 
1857-1870. 

NEVER  was  a  man's  spirit  more  willing  to  con- 
tinue fgr  life  the  work  of  a  Methodist  preacher 
and  pastor.  Mr.  Hemenway  loved  to  preach,  and  he 
delighted  in  the  pastoral  relation.  But  the  flesh  stag- 
gered under  its  heavy  burden,  and  rest  and  change 
became  imperative.  He  decided  to  ask  for  a  location 
at  the  approaching  conference  of  1857,  and  to  seek 
recuperation  among  the  Chelsea  hills,  while  he  should 
await  the  directing  voice  of  Providence.  The  first 
intimation  of  the  call  came  in  the  form  of  a  letter 
from  Professor  Henry  S.  Noyes,  of  the  Northwestern 
University,  at  Evanston,  111.,  dated  April  13,  1857. 
It  stated  that  the  writer  had  recommended  Mr.  Hem- 
enway for  the  position  of  principal  of  the  preparatory 
department  of  the  Garrett  Biblical  Institute.  It  says: 
"Dr.  Kidder  has  told  me  what  kind  of  a  man  they 
want,  and  I  have  informed  him  that  you  exactly  ful- 
fill all  the  required  conditions.  He  is  favorably  im- 
pressed, and  desires  me  to  write  you  to  ascertain 
whether  you  would  favorably  entertain  such  a  prop- 
osition.'' The  annual  income  of  the  institute  was 
stated  to  be  nineteen  thousand  dollars.  The  question 
of  his  joining  the  East  Genesee  Conference  was  under 


NEW  FIELDS  AT   THE    WEST  61 

consideration  at  the  same  time.  A  later  letter  of 
Professor  Noyes's  says:  '^The  lake  breeze  keeps  us 
from  miasma.  The  range  of  study  in  the  preparatory 
department  of  the  Institute  comprises  common  En- 
glish branches,  rhetoric,  elementary  Greek,  elocution, 
and  possibly  Hebrew.  I  am  greatly  desirous  to  see 
you  in  this  position.  Dr.  Dempster  speaks  of  you  in 
the  highest  terms.  We  are  not  entirely  ^  out  of  the 
woods'  yet,  but  this  is  no  drawback,  and  all  our 
visitors  are  charmed  with  our  delightful  scenery." 
Bishop  Baker,  and  many  others,  uniting  in  commend- 
ing this  appointment,  it  was  formally  made  by  the 
trustees*  and  accepted  by  Mr.  Hemenway,  and  in 
September,  1857,  he  left  the  hills  and  valleys  of  Ver- 
mont for  his  new  home  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Mich- 
igan. His  admiration  and  love  for  New  England 
never  decreased.  Twelve  years  after  this  removal, 
he  wrote  to  a  friend  in  Montpelier,  Vt. : 

'*  We  think  of  you  with  peculiar  interest  in  these  unri- 
valed summer  days.  What  a  lovely  home  you  have !  Do  you 
know  how  grand  is  the  panorama  before  you  every  time  you 
ride  to  town  ?  Your  hills  and  mountains  standing  about  you, 
clothed  in  their  summer  beauty,  are  w^orth  a  pilgrimage  to  see. 
I  express  no  disloyalty  to  the  magnificent  country  in  which 
our  lives  are  cast,  when  I  confess  my  profound  sense  of  its  in- 
feriority, in  variety  and  beauty,  to  yours.  May  God  continue 
you,  for  many  long  years,  to  drink  in  his  goodness  through 
channels  so  appropriate!" 

Yet  Evanston,  too,  had  its  peculiar  natural  charms, 
to  which  even  the  early  Indian  inhabitants  were  not 


*The  trustees  at  this  time  were  the  Hou.  Grant  Goodrich,  Orring- 
ton  Lunt,  John  Evans,  and  Revs.  Philo  Judson  and  Steplien  P.  Keyes. 


62  BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH. 

iDclifferent.  To  the  gently  rounded  cape,  covered 
with  noble  oaks  and  jutting  out  into  the  blue  waters 
of  Lake  Michigan,  which  now  forms  the  main  campus, 
they  gave,  if  the  tradition  is  trustworthy,  the  name  of 
''  Beauty's  Eyebrow. '^  Just  north  of  this,  and  be- 
yond the  " Rubicon, '^  the  first  building*  of  the  the- 
ological school  was  erected  in  1854,  on  the  location 
now  occupied  by  the  Swedish  Theological  Seminary. 
The  remarkable  series  of  events  which  led  to  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  Garrett  Biblical  Institute  might 
well  be  considered  romantic,  if  it  should  not  rather 
be  regarded  as  providential.  The  history  can  not  be 
related  here,  f  The  first  term  of  instruction,  under  a 
temporary  organization,  began  in  January,  1855,  with 
four  students,  under  the  tuition  of  Dr.  Dempster  and 
Professors  William  Goodfellow  and  William  P. 
Wright.  When  Professor  Hemenway  entered  upon 
his  duties,  in  the  autumn  of  1857,  he  came  to  an 
Evanston  very  different  from  that  of  to-day.  Up  to 
that  year  the  mail  was  received  but  once  a  week. 
The  present  main  campus  did  not  contain  a  single 
building.  The  Northwestern  University  found  ample 
accommodations  in  a  portion  of  the  present  prepara- 
tory building,  which  then  stood  at  the  north-west 
corner  of  Davis  Street  and  Hinman  Avenue. 

Actual   work  in  the  Northwestern  University  had 

•After  the  erection  of  Heck  HaU,  this  building  became  a  univer- 
sity boarding-house,  and  was  known  as  Dempster  Hall.  It  was  burned 
to  the  ground  in  1879.  Special  mention  is  here  made  of  it  because  of 
its  historic  Interest,  and  of  the  memories  associated  with  it  in  the 
minds  of  the  older  alumni  of  the  Institute. 

t  See  the  historical  sketch,  by  the  late  Hon.  Grant  Goodrich,  in  the 
catalogue  of  the  Institute  for  1889,  and  "The  History  of  P^vanston," 
by  Miss  Frances  E.  Willard. 


NEW  FIELDS  AT  THE   WEST.  63 

begun  November  5,  1855,  with  ten  young  men,  who 
constituted  a  Freshma^n  class.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Ran- 
dolph S.  Foster  was  the  President ;  Henry  S.  Noyes, 
A.  M.,  Professor  of  Mathematics;  Rev.  W.  D.  God- 
man,  A.  M.,  Professor  of  Greek  ;  and  Daniel  Bon- 
bright,  A.  M.,  Professor  of  Latin.  The  name  of  the 
Rev.  Abel  Stevens,  A.  M.,  appears  as  Professor  of 
Rhetoric  and  English  Literature,  but  he  never  came 
to  Evanston  for  active  service.  A  sister  institution 
had  also  been  established  by  Professor  W.  P.  Jones, 
bearing  the  somewhat  cumbrous  name  of  ^' The  North- 
western Female  College  and  Male  Preparatory.'' 

The  circular  of  the  University  for  1857-8  has  the 
additional  name  of  J.  V.  Z.  Blaney,  M.  D.,  as  Pro- 
fessor of  Natural  Sciences,  and  states  that  Professor 
Bonbright  is  absent  in  Europe.  By  this  time  there 
were  three  small  collegiate  classes,  and  two  thousand 
volumes  in  the  library.  It  adds  naively  that  '^  Mr. 
Kennicott  is  collecting  a  museum  of  natural  his- 
tory," and  that  '^the  community  comprises,  with  few 
exceptions,'  professors  of  religion."  The  circular  of 
1858-9  claims  a  population  for  the  village  of  twelve 
hundred. 

Rooms  for  Professor  Hemenway  were  provided  in 
the  building  of  the  institute  named  above.  Fifty- 
three  theological  students  were  registered  for  the  year 
1857-8,  of  whom  thirteen  were  engaged  in  prepara- 
tory studies.  The  Rev.  Dr.  John  Dempster,  the  noble 
founder  of  Methodist  theological  institutions;  the 
Rev.  Daniel  P.  Kidder,  an  acknowledged  leader  in 
theological  training;  and  the  Rev.  Henry  Bannister, 
in    the    full    vigor    of  his    powers,  and    with  a  well- 


64  BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH. 

earned  reputation  as  a  Biblical  scholar,  constituted 
the  regular  faculty.  The  capacity  of  the  original 
building  had  been  nearly  doubled  by  a  large  addi- 
tion. A  glimpse  of  the  interior  is  given  us  in  the 
reminiscences  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  R.  Strobridge,  A.  M., 
who  says :  "  When  I  first  took  my  seat  in  the  chapel,  and 
swept  my  gaze  about  me,  I  was  amused  at  the  coats 
of  many  colors  which  the  students  wore.  But  I  grew 
sober  as  I  observed  the  central  figure  upon  the  plat- 
form, an  aged  man,  not  large  of  stature,  with  a  genial, 
thoughtful  face,  wearing  the  same  kind  of  a  garment, 
made  of  dark,  red-figured  calico.  This  was  Dr. 
Dempster,  whom  I  frequently  saw  afterwards  work- 
ing at  his  wood-pile.  There  also  sat  Dr.  Bannister, 
whose  sturdy  form,  strong  face,  and  noble  character 
were  in  perfect  harmony;  Dr.  Kidder,  whose  erect 
carriage  denoted  the  courteous  gentleman  and  me- 
thodical student;  and  Professor  Hemenway,  accurate, 
clear,  industrious,  and  upright  in  form  as  in  soul.^'* 

The  conditions  of  life  and  work  in  these  pioneer 
days,  in  what  Miss  Willard  calls  the  ^^  rural  and 
idyllic  Evanston,"  were  simpler  than  now,  but,  if  the 
testimony  of  the  old  settlers  is  trustworthy,  were  not 
only  satisfactory  but  delightful.  A  brief  extract 
from  a  letter,  written  by  Professor  Hemenway  June 
11,  1859,  gives  us  a  picture  of  the  social  enjoyments: 
"  Last  Wednesday  I  took  dinner  at  Dr.  Foster's,  only 
two  or  three  being  present  beside  the  family.  That  eve- 
ning I  attended  a  tea-party  at  Professor  Noyes's,  with 
the  Willards,  Bannisters,  Professor    Bonbright,  Mrs. 


From  the  Evaii.stoii   /Ve.s-.«,  1889. 


NEW  FIELDS  A7    THE   WEST.  65 

White,  and  Mrs.  Evans.  The  same  day  I  had  the 
supreme  honor  and  felicity  of  being  introduced  to 
'The  Little  Giant'  [Senator  Douglas].  On  the 
same  remarkable  day  I  visited  the  Art  Union  at 
Chicago. '^  The  same  letter  states  that  "the  commu- 
nity is  excited  over  the  prospect  of  Bishop  Simpson\s 
coming  to  Evanston  to  reside." 

Professor  Hemenway  entered  upon  his  work  with 
an  enthusiasm  and  equipment  which  assured  success. 
He  manifested  those  peculiar  excellencies  as  a  teacher 
for  which  he  afterward  became  conspicuous.  After 
an  interval  of  housekeeping  on  Michigan  Avenue, 
the  family  found  a  congenial  home  at  Dr.  Bannister's, 
until,  in  the  summer  of  1859,  he  built  his  own  house, 
on  Clark  Street,  between  Judson  and  Hinman  Ave- 
nues. By  this  time  the  paralyzing  effects  of  the 
panic  of  1857  had  checked  the  promising  growth  of 
Evanston,  and  greatly  reduced  the  resources  of  both 
University  and  Institute.  Times  grew  worse  rather 
than  better,  and  in  1861  Professor  Hemenway  de- 
cided to  relieve  the  general  embarrassment  by  tem- 
porarily re-entering  the  active  ministry.  He  was 
granted  a  leave  of  absence,  and  was  appointed  pastor 
of  the  Methodist  church  at  Kalamazoo,  Michigan. 
The  following  year  his  valued  services  were  desired 
and  secured  by  the  First  Methodist  Church  of  Chi- 
cago, the  old  mother  church,  then  in  the  full  vigor 
of  her  prime.  His  ministrations  there  were  most  ac- 
ceptable; but  the  heavy  duties  and  cares  overtaxed 
his  strength,  and,  at  his  own  desire,  he  was  returned 
to  Kalamazoo  to  fill  out  his  three  years'  pastoral  term. 
The    impressions   and    influences   of  these    years   are 


66  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 

cherished  both  by  the  local   church  and  the  Michigan 
Conference  in  sacred  and  grateful  remembrance. 

These  four  years  spent  in  the  pastorate  were  those 
of  the  Civil  War.  That  his  utterances  in  regard  to 
it  were  not  uncertain  is  evident  from  the  following 
extract  from  a  sermon,  preached  in  the  autumn  of 
1864,  at  the  close  of  his  second  year  at  Kalamazoo: 

"The  year  now  closing  has  been  one  of  the  most  exciting 
and  perilous  in  the  history  of  this  nation.  It  has  been  a  year 
of  doubt  and  darkness,  of  tears  and  blood  and  suspense,  of 
fearful  peril  and  sublime  patriotism.  The  terrible  strife  that 
has  been  raging  in  our  land  has  continued  with  unabated  fury. 
The  cause  of  public  order,  involving  every  thing  dear  to  the 
patriot  and  Christian,  has  been  in  imminent  peril;  and  I  could 
not  be  silent;  I  could  not  if  I  would,  I  would  not  if  I  could. 
Treason  is  a  capital  crime,  and  I  have  judged  that  mere  indif- 
ference at  such  a  time  as  this  partakes  of  the  nature  of  treason. 
If  I  could  stand  by  with  a  cold,  calculating  selfishness  when  my 
country  is  in  a  death  grapple  with  her  foes,  I  should  be  unfit  to 
live,  how  much  more  unfit  to  stand  in  this  sacred  place!  And 
I  have  spoken,  not  as  a  politician,  but  as  a  patriot ;  not  as  a  par- 
tisan, but  as  a  Christian.  I  have  spoken  with  the  single  pur- 
pose of  making  the  government  strong.  As  a  minister,  I  have 
felt  that  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  men  or  measures,  with  ad- 
ministrations or  policies,  except  as  connected  with  a  divinely- 
established  government.  For  the  interests  of  truth,  of  human- 
ity, of  religion  ;  for  the  love  of  the  past  and  the  hope  of  the 
future ;  in  view  of  my  allegiance  to  my  country  and  my  God, 
I  have  spoken.  Never  as  the  friend  of  any  party ;  never  as 
the  advocate  of  any  policy;  never  in  view  of  any  merely 
earthly  interest.  It  is  possible,  though  I  have  received  no 
Buch  intimation  from  any  quarter,  that  the  words  I  have 
Bpoken  on  this  subject  have  sometimes  been  felt  to  be  narrow 
and  bitter  and  partisan,  or,  at  least,  too  earnest  and  emphatic. 
If  I  have  ever  spoken  harshly  or  bitterly ;  if  I  have  ever  os- 
tracized from  the  pale  of  my  sympathies  any  truly  loyal  man ; 
if  plainly  or  obscurely,  directly  or  by  implication,  I  have  been 


NEW  FIELDS  AT  THE   WEST.  67 

understood  to  teach  anything  more  than  unconditional,  un- 
swerving, unyielding  devotion  to  our  God-given  government, 
I  deeply  regret  it  and  humbly  beg  your  pardon.  But  if,  on 
the  other  hand,  my  words  have  been,  as  they  were  intended 
to  be,  true  to  the  Union,  to  humanity,  to  God,  to  the  past  and 
to  the  future;  if  tliey  have  been  such  words  as  the  Christian 
soldier  would  speak  with  the  inspiration  of  his  heroic  death 
upon  him ;  if  they  have  been  such  words  as  those  sublime 
patriots  of  our  Revolution  would  speak,  could  they  come  down 
amid  the  ruin  and  darkness  of  this  great  civil  strife,  whose 
stake  is  the  very  government  founded  by  their  wisdom,  con- 
secrated by  their  prayers,  watered  by  their  tears,  and  baptized 
with  their  blood,  I  do  not  wish  them  changed.  I  am  grateful 
to  have  been  permitted  to  speak,  though  feebly,  in  their  be- 
half. I  could  only  wish  that  my  utterances  had  been  more 
emphatic  and  influential.  If  I  could  speak  coldly  or  doubt- 
fully in  behalf  of  a  cause  for  which,  in  the  same  hour,  hun- 
dreds and  thousands  of  my  brethren  may  be  dying,  I  should 
be  unworthy  of  the  American  name.  Brethren,  it  is  only  the 
sacrifice  and  union,  the  faith  and  firmness  of  the  loyal  people 
of  the  North  that  can  a;vert  an  issue,  the  result  of  which  must 
be  the  scorn  of  men,  the  curse  of  God,  and  calamities  in  com- 
parison with  which  war  itself  would  be  light.  Better  that  a 
generation  perish  than  that  the  tyranny,  corruption,  and  bar- 
barism of  a  slaveholding  government  be  permitted  to  sweep 
over  our  land!  And  if  this  result  may  be  averted  by  prayer, 
by  suffering,  by  concession  of  everything  but  principle,  let  us 
not  falter." 

The  character  of  his  preaching  may  be  fairly 
judged  from  the  sermons  included  in  this  volume. 
These  selected  examples  may  surpass  his  average  ser- 
mon in  finish  or  special  interest,  but  they  lose  im- 
mensely more  in  lacking  the  living  voice  and  impress- 
ive personality  of  the  preacher.  He  ordinarily  wrote 
rather  full  notes  in  preparing  to  preach,  and  then 
spoke  extemporaneously  from  a  brief  outline.  Oc- 
casionally, however,  he  would  read  from  a  full   man- 


68  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

uscript  with  marked  effect.  His  illustrations  were 
frequent,  fresh  and  pointed.  His  main  divisions 
were  clearly  marked,  forcibly  stated,  and  hence  easily 
remembered.  More  than  one  minister  has  avoided 
using  a  text  from  which  he  has  heard  Professor 
Hemenway  preach,  from  fear  of  plagiarism,  which 
could  not  honestly  be  attributed  to  ^^unconscious  as- 
similation." 

The  general  influence  and  results  of  his  pastorate 
in  Kalamazoo  are  described  in  a  letter  from  a  promi- 
nent member  of  the  church  : 

"  One  beautiful  October  day,  in  1861,  there  came  to  our 
then  village  a  young  man  of  medium  height,  clear-cut,  intel- 
lectual face,  cultivated  manners,  and  pleasant  voice.  He 
sought  out  the  trustees  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
and  introduced  himself  as  Mr.  Hemenway,  and  was  at  once 
recognized  as  the  newly  appointed  pastor.  That  October  day 
marked  an  era  in  the  history  of  the  Methodist  church  of  Kal- 
amazoo. The  church  he  came  to  serve  was  a  small  society, 
worshiping  in  an  old  wooden  building.  It  was  singularly 
wanting  in  all  those  external  things  which  tend  to  make  a 
church  a  refining  and  uplifting  power  in  a  community.  After 
a  three  years'  pastorate  he  left  us  well  on  the  way  to  the  high 
position  of  influence  and  usefulness  to  which  the  church  has 
since  attained.  The  missionary  and  other  collections  were  in- 
creased phenomenally,  and  the  membership  largely  added  to, 
though  there  was  no  wide-spread  revival.  He  made  possible 
the  large  church-building  enterprise  on  which  we  entered  the 
next  year.  Indeed,  the  church  experienced  a  true  renais- 
sance— religious,  intellectual,  and  social.  He  found  us  weak 
and  small ;  he  left  us  strong,  united,  and  growing.  Never  be- 
fore were  the  relations  of  all  the  pastors  of  the  Kalamazoo 
churches  so  fraternal;  and  never  before  was  a  Methodist  pas- 
tor in  Kalamazoo  so  respected,  beloved,  and  sought  after  by 
other  denominations.     But  my  poor  pen  can  never  tell  all  he 


NEW  FIELDS  AT  THE    WEST.  69 

was  to  us,  and  all  he  did  for  us  as  individuals  and  as  a  church. 
The  story  may  be  partially  read  in  our  material  growth  and 
prosperity,  but  a  fuller  and  more  enduring  record  exists  in 
the  hearts  and  lives  of  those  to  whom  he  was  an  inspiration 
and  a  guide.  And  now,  though  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century  has  passed,  and  many  of  those  who  were  blessed  by 
his  ministrations  here  are,  we  trust,  enjoying  the  *  liberty  of 
the  sons  of  God,'  there  are  still  many  among  us  to  whom  his 
name  stands  for  all  that  most  perfectly  characterizes  '  a  minis- 
ter in  the  church  of  God,'  and  his  memory  is,  in  the  Kala- 
mazoo church,  'as  ointment  poured  forth.'" 

An  important  event  of  this  period  was  the  death 
of  Dr.  Dempster,  which  occurred  in  November,  1863. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  M.  Eddy  preached  his  funeral 
sermon  at  Evanston ;  and  memorial  services  were 
held  in  the  Clark  Street  church  in  Chicago,  Decem- 
ber 13th,  which  were  participated  in  by  Professor 
Hemenway,  Dr.  Kidder,  Dr.  Bannister,  Rev.  C.  H. 
Fowler,  and  Dr.  Tiffany.  Professor  Hemenway  was 
asked  to  speak  of  Dr.  Dempster  as  a  minister.  A 
few  sentences  from  his  address  will  show  his  admira- 
tion and  affection  for  this  honored  man  : 

"I  feel  that  I  do  no  injustice  to  the  living  when  I  say 
that  there  are  regards  in  which  Dr.  Dempster  stood  alone  in 
my  affection,  as  he  now  stands,  and  must  ever  stand,  alone  in 
my  memory.  It  is  not  for  me  to  speak  of  his  genius,  his  va- 
ried and  extraordinary  attainments,  his  unsurpassed  industry, 
his  rigid  parsimony  of  time ;  his  steady  inclination  toward 
whatever  might  improve  the  condition,  elevate  the  character, 
and  promote  the  efficiency  of  that  church  in  which  he  was  a 
happy  member  and  honored  minister  for  fifty  years ;  the  sim- 
plicity and  modesty  with  which  he  bore  the  distinguished 
honors  so  worthily  conferred  on  him ;  that  uniform  courtesy 
of  demeanor  and  kindliness  of  heart  which  made  him  more 
than  welcome  in  every  circle He  was  sometimes 


70  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

overwhelmingly  eloquent In  the  devotional  part  of 

the  minister's  work  he  was  pre-eminent.  I  have  heard  many- 
men  pray,  but  no  man  like  Dr.  Dempster.  In  the  fitness  of 
his  terms,  the  delicate  gleams  of  imagery,  the  vigor  and  com- 
prehensiveness of  the  thought  expressed,  and,  above  all,  in  the 
fervor,  the  unction,  the  rapt   inspiration  of  his  style,  he  was 

most  remarkable For  two  years  T  was  under  him 

as  a  student,  and  for  several  years  as  a  subordinate  teacher, 
and  during  these  years  I  can  recall  no  instance  of  an  unneces- 
sary wound  to  my  feelings,  not  a  single  exhibition  of  infirmity 
of  temper,  no  harsh  or  careless  or  unfeeling  word;  but  always 
the  most  tender  regard  for  the  rights,  interests,  convictions, 
and  even  prejudices  of  those  with  whom  he  had  to  do.  The 
sweetness  of  his  temper,  his  perfect  self-control,  the  affability 
of  his  manners,  his  rare  conversational  powers,  and  keen  and 
ready  wit,  made  him  a  favorite  in  every  circle." 

The  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  Dr.  Demp- 
ster was  most  wisely  filled  by  the  election,  in  1864, 
of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Miner  Raymond  to  the  chair  of  Sys- 
tematic Theology,  who,  in  addition  to  his  work  in 
the  Institute,  served  as  pastor  of  the  Evanston  church 
for  three  years,  to  the  great  enjoyment  and  profit  of 
the  congregation.  The  finances  of  the  Institute  hav- 
ing materially  improved  by  1865,  Professor  Hemen- 
way  then  resumed  his  duties  in  the  school,  not,  how- 
ever, as  instructor  in  English  Literature  and  Greek, 
but  as  adjunct  Professor  of  Biblical  Literature. 

A  substantial  and  visible  proof  of  the  improved 
conditions  was  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  a 
new  building  for  the  Institute  in  1866.  The  Rev. 
James  S.  Smart,  of  Michigan,  who  was  financial  agent 
at  this  time,  labored  efficiently  to  make  this  a  worthy 
centenary  memorial,  and  was  nobly  aided  by  the  La- 
dies' Centenary  Association.     Miss  Frances  E.   Wil- 


NEW  FIELDS  AT  THE   WEST.  71 

lard  was  introduced  to  public  life  as  corresponding 
secretary  of  this  association.  The  new  building  was 
appropriately  named  "Heck  Hall,"  after  Mrs.  Bar- 
bara Heck,  of  blessed  memory. 

During  this  period  such  history  was  being  made  in 
his  family  circle  as  must  remain  unwritten,  and  yet  is 
recognized  in  every  home  as  more  important  than  all 
which  can  be  recorded.  He  had  watched,  with  unut- 
terable anxiety,  for  the  returning  health  of  the  one 
who  was  dearest  to  him,  and  whose  life  was  threat- 
ened by  disease.  Once  death  had  entered  his  home, 
and  taken  away  his  second  child,  little  Willie,  who 
seemed,  in  the  father's  eyes,  the  most  beautiful  thing 
he  had  ever  seen.  In  joy  and  sorrow,  his  home  was 
to  him  the  center  of  his  affection  and  life.  Yet  he 
was  ever  faithful  to  his  duties  as  a  friend  and  neigh- 
bor, as  a  citizen,  and  as  a  member  and  minister  of  the 
church.  He  made  it  a  rule  to  be  present  at  the 
weekly  prayer-meeting,  and  most  of  the  time  he 
served  either  as  a  class-leader  or  Sunday-school 
teacher.  During  the  years  spent  at  Evanston  he  was 
frequently  called  for  occasional  service  as  preacher, 
and  served  as  a  regular  supply,  for  longer  or  shorter 
periods,  at  Winnetka,  Rogers  Park,  and  some  other 
places.  These  years,  though  outwardly  rather  une- 
ventful, were  filled  with  beneficent  activity,  which 
brought  discipline  and  happiness  to  him,  and  incal- 
culable blessings  to  others. 

In  1859  Professor  Hemenway  had  received  the 
degree  of  Master  of  Arts  from  the  Ohio  Wesleyan 
University,  an  honor  most  fittingly  bestowed,  since, 
by  private  study,  he  had  mastered  a  range  of  collegi- 


72  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH, 

ate  studies  more  extensive  than  the  ordinary  college 
curriculum  of  the  day.  In  1870  the  Northwestern 
University  honored  him  with  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Divinity,  and  he  was  elected  by  the  trustees  to  the 
chair  of  Hebrew  and  Biblical  Literature.  This  lat- 
ter year,  therefore,  is  marked  by  the  public  recogni- 
tion of  the  maturity  of  his  powers  both  as  a  scholar 
and  teacher. 


AT  EVANSTON.  73 


CHAPTER    VII. 

AT  EVANSTON. 
1870-1874. 

DR.  HEMENWAY  was  now  forty  years  old. 
The  portrait  accompanying  this  volume  will  re- 
call to  friends  and  reveal  to  others  the  attractiveness 
of  his  face,  with  its  broad  brow,  clear-cut  features, 
and  bright  and  kindly  expression.  His  eyes  and 
complexion  were  dark;  his  hair  and  whiskers,  origi- 
nally black,  were  now  well  silvered  with  gray,  and 
becoming  fringed  with  white.  A  little  under  the 
medium  height,  his  carriage  was  erect  and  his  step 
quick  and  peculiar.  His  dress  was  ^^  neither  distinct- 
ively clerical  nor  noticeably  otherwise,  but  simple, 
sober,  and  manly."  He  had  a  rich  and  pleasant 
voice,  and  a  manner  generally  reserved,  yet  always 
courteous.  His  bright  smile  and  occasional  hearty 
laugh  will  be  remembered  by  his  intimate  friends. 
He  was  now  living  in  his  own  house,  on  the  corner 
of  Chicago  avenue  and  Clark  street.  His  family 
consisted  of  his  wife  and  two  sons,  Henry  and  Frank. 
Of  this  home  it  is  enough  to  say  that  it  reached  his 
own  lofty  ideal  of  "  a  place  of  rest  and  peace  and 
freedom — a  holy  place,  a  place  of  brightness  and 
warmth,  the  clearest  and  fullest  revelation  of  the  best 
possibilities  of  human  experience."  If  he  appeared 
reserved  to  others,  he  poured  out  upon  his  family  a 


74  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

veritable  wealth  of  affection.  He  cherished  also  the 
neighborhood  ties  which  had  been  forming  for  many 
years,  and  he  was,  in  turn,  greatly  beloved. 

Many  remember  well  his  accustomed  seat  at  the 
church  prayer-meeting,  which  was  seldom  vacant. 
Some  will  never  forget  how  heartily  he  used  to  sing 
the  hymns  he  loved  so  well.  His  voice  in  prayer 
and  testimony  was  ever  most  welcome.  Of  the  words 
he  spoke  these  sentences  are  characteristic :  '^  No 
man  was  ever  happier  in  his  church  relations  than  I 
am.''  ^'  The  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  meets  every 
want  of  my  nature  and  condition.''  One  friend*  has 
treasured  in  his  memory  the  following  remarks,  and 
has  reproduced  them  substantially  as  they  were 
uttered  by  Dr.  Hemenway  in  a  Wednesday  evening 
prayer-meeting : 

"  It  is  in  their  human  qualities  that  the  life  and  character 
of  the  Savior  afford  to  me  the  greatest  helpfulness  and  hope. 
The  fact  that  Jesus  was  a  man,  and  that  as  a  man  he  can  enter 
into,  understand,  and  sympathize  with  all  the  experiences  of 
men,  enables  me  to  come  into  closer  relationship  with  him 
than  would  be  possible  under  any  other  conditions.  As  a 
Divine  Being  I  adore  and  worship  him.  His  power  impresses 
me  with  wonder  and  with  awe  ;  his  condescension  fills  me  with 
amazement,  and  his  goodness  and  mercy  with  gratitude.  In 
all  these  respects,  however,  he  is  infinitely  removed  from  me. 
He  is  my  Lord  and  Master,  the  God  whom  I  reverence,  the 
Sovereign  whose  loyal  subject  I  strive  to  be,  and  believe  that 
I  am. 

"But  it  is  the  human  Christ  to  whom  my  heart  cleaves 
when  temptations  beset  me.  When  disappointments  and  af- 
flictions and  sorrows  press  heavily  upon  me,  I  remember  that 
Jesus,  in  his  human  character,  became  familiar  with  all  of  these 


*Mr.  Frank  P.  Crandon. 


AT  E VANSTON.  75 

experiences;  that  under  conditions  and  limitations  similar  to 
those  which  surround  me,  he  worked  and  walked  and  talked 
and  lived  and  died.  He  is  literally  my  brother.  He  knows  all 
about  my  trials  and  my  nt  c^ssities,  not  as  the  ministering 
angels  know  these  things,  not  even  as  God  ih«-  Father  knows 
them,  but  as  they  b«  conie  known  to  one  who  has  shared 
them — one  who  has  bt)rne  the  burden  they  impose,  and  who, 
through  these  experiences,  can  understand  my  case,  and  afford 
me  the  exact  assistance  and  j-trength  which  I  need.  In  this 
Elder  Brother's  presence  I  am  no  longer  conscious  of  the  dis- 
tance which  intervenes  between  an  infinite  God  and  a  sinful 
man.  The  Savior  talks  witii  me,  and  as  we  commune  together 
he  seems  to  enfold  me  in  his  arms.  He  bears  me  upwards 
out  of  the  region  of  despondency  or  of  doubt,  dissipates  every 
cloud  and  every  fear,  and  ?o  identifies  me  with  himself  that  I 
am  made  a  parttiker  of  his  strength  ;  and  as  I  go  fo!th  to  the 
duties  and  labors  which  await  me,  I  am  constantly  encouraged 
by  the  admonition,  '  lie  of  good  cheer,  I  have  overcome  the 
world.' " 

Dr.  Hetnenway  was  a  regular  attendant  of  the 
Saturday  evening  teachers'  meeting,  which  he  fre- 
quently led.  Referring  to  this,  Mr.  William  Deering, 
a  layman  of  great  experience  in  this  line,  and  of  ripe 
judgment,  has  said  :  "  Dr.  Hemenway  was  the  best 
Bible  teacher  I  have  ever  known.'' 

His  great  life-work,  however,  was  done  in  the 
class-room.  The  teacher's  chair  was  his  throne  of 
power.  The  old  Dempster  Chapel  in  Heck  Hall  will 
ever  be  sacred  in  the  memory  of  many  students,  be- 
cause of  the  intellectual  stimulus  and  spiritual  inspi- 
ration received  in  his  classes  there.  A  former  student 
writes:  "Nothing  that  he  said  is  so  vividly  remem- 
bered by  me  as  the  prayers  with  which  he  opened 
each  recitation  hour.  These  were  brief,  fervent, 
pointed,  and  so   suited   to  the  circumstances  of  stu- 


76  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

dent  life  that  I  am  sure  others  must  have  felt  as  I 
did,  that  they  were  the  voicing  of  desires  which  I 
had  deeply  felt  but  found  no  words  to  express. 
There  was  always  more  light  after  he  had  prayed." 

Another  former  student,*  noticing  the  remarkable 
brevity,  thoughtfulness,  and  finish  of  these  prayers, 
formed  the  habit  of  taking  them  down.  Among 
those  thus  preserved  are  the  following : 

"  Inspire  us  with  a  regard  for  thy  law  as  it  applies 
to  every  thought  of  the  mind,  to  every  emotion  of 
the  soul,  and  to  all  the  energies  of  the  will.'' 

"We  bring  unto  thee  an  imperfect  service;  but 
we  ask  thee  to  accept  it,  not  because  of  what  we  have 
obtained,  but  because  of  what  we  desire  to  obtain. 
Bless  us,  O  Lord,  evermore.     Amen.'' 

"O  God,  help  us  to  recognize  thee  as  the  King  of 
truth — truth  which  is  not  only  external  in  its  relation, 
but  first  of  all  internal.  Assist  us  to  be  ever  loyal 
to  the  truth,  both  in  the  decisions  of  our  intellect  and 
the  affections  of  the  heart,  and  in  the  decisions  of  the 
Avill,  and  in  all  the  acts  and  forms  of  our  life.  Bless 
us  at  this  time,  and  reveal  to  us  thy  truth  according 
to  our  need.  Help  us  to  call  upon  thee  with  full 
purpose  of  heart,  for  Jesus'  sake.     Amen." 

"  We  come  unto  thee,  O  Lord,  asking  thee  for 
the  blessing  of  which  thou  seest  we  stand  in  need,  in 
order  that  we  may  properly  do  the  work  of  this  hour. 
O  Lord,  we  thank  thee  for  the  bright  shining  of  thy 
light  upon  us.  We  thank  thee  that  we  have  our  ex- 
istence in  the   fullness  of  thy  revelation.     We  pray 


*Rev.  Register  W.  inland,  class  of  1884. 


AT  E VANSTON.  11 

thou  wouldst  help  us  to  see  the  eminence  upon  which 
thou  hast  placed  us.  Enable  us  to  understand  our 
high  privileges.  Help  us  to  realize  that  to  whom 
much  is  given,  of  him  much  shall  be  required;  that 
as  ability  increases  responsibility  increases.  And,  O 
Lord,  help  us  to  be  faitfiful  to  the  responsibilities 
which  are  upon  us." 

Mr.  Bland  adds :  ^^  Sometimes  his  prayer  was  a 
single  sentence,  ending  with  an  abrupt  ^  Amen.'  His 
prayers  had  no  hackneyed,  worn-out,  pious  phrases. 
His  phraseology  was  always  fresh,  clear,  and  con- 
densed. He  abhorred  cant  and  Pharisaism.  He 
said  it  seemed  to  him  that  the  interior  communings 
of  the  soul  with  God  were  too  sacred  to  be  invaded 
by  the  questious  of  our  most  intimate  associates,  and 
sometimes  too  sacred  to  be  uttered  aloud.'' 

Another  old  student*  has  recalled  these  sentences 
from  his  prayers : 

^^  O  Lord,  we  are  driven  to  thee  by  a  sense  of  our 
need,  and  we  are  drawn  to  thee  by  a  sense  of  thy 
love." 

"  As  the  leaf  of  the  flower  opens  to  receive  the 
light  of  life  from  the  sun,  so,  O  God,  we  open  our 
hearts  to  thee,  the  author  of  all  life." 

**  Shine  upon  our  darkness  and  dispel  it.  Subdue 
our  sins  and  cast  them  out." 

"  Help  us  to  recognize  the  solemn  responsibilities 
that  confront  us  every  hour  of  our  mortal  being." 

Another t  writes:  "in  those  prayers  Dr.  Hemen- 
way  talked  with  God  as  a  man  talks  with  his  friend. 


-Rev.  Wm.  H.  W.  Rees,  D  D.,  class  of  1883. 
t  Rev.  O.  L,  Fisher,  class  of  1871. 


78  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

One  such  prayer  I  can  never  forget,  in  which  he 
thanked  God  that  we  could  know  his  Son,  Jesus 
Christ,  better  than  Peter  and  James  and  John  did, 
while  they  walked  and  talked  with  him  in  the 
flesh.  As  the  prayer  continued  there  cam^  to  me 
such  a  revelation  of  Christ  that  we  seemed  almost  to 
be  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration/'  Rev.  L.  M. 
Hartley,  of  the  class  of  1884,  recalls  this  incident: 
One  day,  when  the  nature  of  God  was  under  discus- 
sion in  the  class,  a  student  questioned  the  propriety 
of  attributing  emotion  to  the  Almighty.  At  this  Dr. 
Hemenway  kindled,  and  exclaimed  in  his  peculiarly 
emphatic  way:  ^'Remove  emotion  and  feeling  from 
the  idea  of  God,  and  yoxi  have  taken  away  my  God.^' 
Dr.  Hemen way's  principal  work  was  in  Hebrew 
and  Biblical  literature.  He  was  not  enthusiastic  in 
the  drill  required  in  teaching  the  elements  of  a  for- 
eign language.  The  new  methods  of  teaching  Hebrew 
had  not  yet  been  introduced.  Yet  his  instruction  in 
the  elements  was  thorough  and  satisfactory.  His  ex- 
positions were  free,  clear,  and  suggestive.  Written 
notes  were  seldom  taken,  and  written  examinations 
were  not  required.  In  his  lectures  on  Biblical  Intro- 
duction he  exhibited  and  aroused  greater  enthusiasm. 
He  was  accustomed  to  write  an  outline  of  his  lecture 
on  the  blackboard,  and  then,  standing  before  the 
class,  he  would  enlarge  upon  this  in  forcible  and  well- 
chosen  language;  so  that  the  hour  proved  not  only 
instructive,  but  interesting  and  inspiring.  During 
several  of  the  years  of  this  period  he  gave  instruc- 
tion, also,  in  homiletics  and  pastoral  theology.  His 
ideal  of  a  Methodist  preacher  and  pastor  was  clearly 


AT  EVANSTON.  79 

defined  and  high.  From  his  own  exj^erience,  and  his 
observation,  he  had  accnrate  and  extensive  knowledge 
of  a  Methodist  minister's  field  of  labor.  He  had  care- 
fully studied  the  conditions  of  success,  and  was  pecul- 
iarly fitted,  by  his  sound  judgment,  warm  sympathy, 
and  descriptive  powers,  to  present  these  conditions  viv- 
idly to  the  minds  of  his  students.  While  he  described 
this  lofty  ideal  of  a  Methodist  minister — as  a  man,  a 
student,  as  a  preacher  and  pastor — many  who  listened 
formed  a  new  and  higher  conception  of  their  calling, 
and  accepted  the  directions  and  inspiration  offered 
them  as  among  the  greatest  and  best  of  their  lives. 
The  notes  taken  on  this  subject  were  cherished  and 
consulted  in  later  years,  in  the  midst  of  the  active 
duties  and  perplexities  of  responsible  pastoral  life. 

Some  extracts  from  his  utterances,  concerning  the 
Methodist  preacher  and  pastor,  will  show  the  force 
and  clearness  of  his  views  : 

"  The  Methodist  minister  should  have  some  special  adap- 
tations. For  instance,  to  the  masses.  It  is  the  special  glory 
of  Methodism  that  it  is  eminently  the  religion  of  the  people. 
To  be  suited  to  her  ministry  one  must  be  capable  of  adjusting 
himself,  not  merely  to  the  cultured  and  aristocratic  few,  but 
to  the  hard-working,  practical  masses,  who  make  up  the  bone 
and  sinew  of  society.  He  must  not  be  dainty  and  fastidious  in 
his  tastes.  He  must  be  able  to  wield  an  influence  over  men  in- 
capable of  judging  of  the  quality  of  his  culture  and  indifferent 
to  the  beauty  of  his  diction,  but  who,  nevertheless,  may  judge 
very  correctly  as  to  the  quality  of  his  teaching  and  the  spirit  of 
his  ministry.  He  should  distinctly  aim  at  power  over  the  people. 
Monarchists  cry,  *God  save  the  king!'  American  politicians, 
'  God  save  the  Union !'  ecclesiastics,  '  God  save  the  church !'  but 
let  it  be  the  cry  of  Methodists,  everywhere  and  always,  '  God  save 
the  people !'  for  if  they  are  saved,  every  thing  else  worth  saving 


80  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 

will  be  saved  also.  There  is  a  kind  of  clerical  exclusiveness, 
which  many  indulge  or  afi'ect,  and  which  stands  in  the  way  of 
this  practical  adaptation.  Some  clergymen — of  what  George 
MacDonald  calls  the  *  pure,  honest,  and  narrow  type  '—seem,  in 
every  point  and  line  of  their  countenances,  marked  as  priests, 
and  hence  apart  from  their  fellow-men.  By  their  dress,  the 
tones  of  their  voice,  and  their  general  demeanor,  they  proclaim : 
'Stand  by  yourself,  come  not  near  me,  for  I  am  holier  than 
thou.'  They  are,  they  would  seem  to  say,  as  the  Sabbath  to 
common  days,  or  the  church  to  common  houses ;  but,  more 
correctly,  they  are  like  funerals  to  common  events,  or  corpses 
to  living  beings.  In  the  unsullied  whiteness  and  the  un- 
wrinkled  blackness  of  their  costumes,  in  the  cold  stateliness 
of  their  aspect,  and  their  hollow  and  priestly  tones,  they  re- 
mind us  of  the  dead  rather  than  of  the  living.  They  move 
among  men  with  a  mingled  pomposity  and  solemnity,  'as  if 
the  care  of  the  whole  world  lay  on  their  shoulders  ;  as  if  an 
awful  destruction  was  the  most  likely  thing  to  happen  to  every 
one,  while  to  them  is  committed  the  toilsome  chance  of  saving 
some.'  As  they  enter  the  places  where  men  congregate — 
market,  shop,  railway  depot,  public  hall — the  language  of  their 
manner  is:  ^ Procul  o,  procul  este,  profaniP  They  flow  into  the 
sea  of  common  humanity  like  streams  of  holy  oil.  When  they 
speak  to  common  men  they  bless,  or  patronize,  or  tolerate,  or 
endure.  Their  ministrations  have  a  mechanical  efficacy.  Men 
are  to  be  regenerated  by  their  magical,  priestly  touch,  or  by 
their  grand,  and  impressive  ceremonial  manipulations.  Men 
of  this  type,  though  found  in  every  denomination,  are  specially 
out  of  place  in  our  ministry.  The  Methodist  minister  s'ould 
be  every  inch  a  man.  He  should  be  more  broadly,  profoundly, 
and  intensely  human  than  common  men.  He  must  be  able  to 
give  other  men  his  hand  and  his  heart — to  'rejoice  with  them 
that  do  rejoice,  and  weep  with  them  that  weep.'  Not  by  pomp- 
ous ceremonies,  but  by  vital  influences  will  he  expect  to 
save  men There  must  be  adaptation  to  the  Meth- 
odist pulpit.  The  Methodist  pulpit,  however  numerous  and 
marked  may  be  the  individual  exceptions,  is  a  place  where 
the  gospel  is  preached  freely,  earnestly,  plainly,  pointedly, 
effectively.     It  is  not  a  place   for  essays — theological,  moral, 


AT  EVANSTON,  81 

literary,  or  any  other  kind.  It  is  not  a  place  for  lectures 
or  orations,  be  they  political  or  religious.  It  is  not  a  place 
for  abstrusities,  profundities,  or  platitudes.  It  is  not  a  place 
for  dry  and  harsh  polemics.  It  is  not  a  theater  for  oratorical 
display,  or  word-painting — for  intellectual  gymnastics.  The 
preaching  of  the  Methodist  pulpit  must  be  nothing  suited  to 
the  few  merely,  but  to  all.  It  must  address,  not  the  intel- 
lectual nature  mainly,  but  the  spiritual  nature.  Its  profiting 
must  not  respect  mainly  the  life  that  now  is,  but  that  which  is 
to  come.  If  it  be  said  that  all  these  characteristics  pertain  to 
the  Christian  pulpit  as  such,  in  every  denomination,  I  reply 
that  they  characterize  eminently  the  Methodist  pulpit.  There 
are  those  who  would  be  acceptable  in  other  pulpits  who  would 
not  be  acceptable  in  ours;  just  as  there  are  many  who  do  ef- 
fective work  among  us,  but  would  not  be  equally  successful  in 
any  other  denomination.  The  typical  Methodist  preacher  is  a 
man  positive  in  his  convictions,  fervid  in  his  feelings,  plain 
and  downright  in  speech,  simple  in  manner,  of  broad  sympa- 
thies, and  capable  of  wielding  a  fair  measure  of  popular  influ- 
ence. Extemporaneousness  of  address,  also,  is  commonly  as- 
sociated with  these  qualities,  and  is  their  most  natural  mode  of 
expression."     .     .     . 

"  And  so,  too,  should  be  corrected  all  tendencies  towards 
priestly  charlatanism — ghostly,  priestly  tones,  denominational 
cant,  stock  phrases,  and  affectations  of  all  sorts  and  kinds. 
The  clergyman  who  is  faithful  to  himself,  and  thoroughly  gen- 
uine in  his  individual  life,  will,  in  the  end,  slough  off  all  such 
excrescences,  and  stand  forth  a  truthful  expression  of  the  re- 
ligion which  he  assumes  to  teach."     ... 

"  Especially  offensive  to  a  cultivated  and  spiritual  wor- 
shiper is  ministerial  egotism.  The  minister  who,  like  J^sop's 
fly,  seated  on  the  end  of  the  carriage  axle,  is  continually  ex- 
claiming, 'See  what  a  dust  I  raise!'  thus  constantly  thrust- 
ing his  important  self  upon  the  attention  of  those  whose 
*  heart  and  flesh  are  crying  out  for  the  living  God,'  wearies  and 
baffles  the  spirit  of  devotion  sometimes  to  the  point  of  positive 
disgust  or  absolute  defeat."     .     .     . 

"  If  I  have  room  to  mention  another  tlerical  vice  which 
mars  the  beauty  and  lessens  the  interest  of    public  religious 


82  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH, 

service,  it  shall  be  affectation.  In  tbe  case  of  the  minister,  it 
hides  more  excellencies  than  charity  does  sins.  There  is  noth- 
ing we  so  much  demand  in  men,  and  especially  those  who 
'minister  and  serve  the  altar,'  as  genuineness — a  thorough 
conformity  of  the  outward  life  to  the  inward  spirit.  Strained 
allusions,  disgusting  finery,  pomjiousness  of  demeanor  are  es- 
pecially out  of  harmony  with  the  office  of  him  who  stands 
before  the  people  'in  Christ's  stead.'"     .     .     . 

''  Here,  then,  is  a  prime  qualification  for  a  Methodst  pas- 
tor. He  should  know  the  peculiar  genius  of  his  denomination, 
and  be  in  full  sympathy  with  it.  He  should  enter  into  this 
great  evangelic  movement.  He  should  feel  that  his  business 
is  not  to  instruct  men  as  an  end,  but  to  save  them.  He  should 
seek  to  follow  worthily  in  the  footsteps  of  the  fathers,  and 
tone  up  his  soul  by  studying  their  heroic  lives.  He  should 
practice  the  same  simplicity,  earnestness,  directness,  evan- 
gelic intensity  which  God  so  honored  in  Wesley's  time.  He 
should  remember,  as  he  stands  up  to  speak  to  the  people,  that, 
in  the  case  of  many  of  them,  he  has  but  a  half  hour  out  of 
the  week  to  raise  the  dead  in,  and  this  reflection  should  nerve 
his  arm  to  strike  the  most  vigorous  blows.  Then  shall  every 
sermon  be  a  battle — short,  sharp,  decisive,  victorious." 

No  pen-picture  of  this  great  teacher  would  be 
complete  without  some  reference  to  his  sense  of 
humor,  and  the  sarcasm  which  he  wielded  in  the 
class-room  in  an  effective  and  sometimes  startling 
way ;  yet  it  is  impossible  to  give  any  idea  of  the 
quality  and  power  of  his  wit.  All  his  former  stu- 
dents remember  it  well,  some  doubtless  ruefully. 
But  few  can  recall  definite  examples,  and  those  pre- 
served, apart  from  the  remembered  situation,  give 
no  adequate  impression  of  their  original  pungency. 
Some  of  the  alumni  of  the  Institute  may,  however, 
enjoy  the  following,  as  reminders  of  the  old  seminary 
days.     In  the  Hebrew  class,  one  day,  a  student  trans- 


AT  EVANSTON.  83 

lated  Gen.  ii,  3,  as  follows :  ^'  And  God  blessed  the 
seventh  day  and  sanctified  it,  because  that  in  it  he 
had  done  all  his  work."  '^  That  rendering/'  re- 
marked Dr.  Hemenway  without  a  smile,  "  is  for 
some  preachers — on  the  seventh  day  they  do  all  their 
work.''  To  a  student  whose  irregularity  and  unfaith- 
fulness had  greatly  tried  his  patience,  and  who  came 
to    him    one    day    with    a    lame    excuse,    he    said : 

"  Brother ,  I  believe   that  you  are  a  much  better 

man  than  you  seem  to  be  J' 

He  used  the  Socratic  method  freely  ^and  eifect- 
ively  in  his  classes.  He  once  defined  teaching  as 
^'  the  vital  and  helpful  contact  of  one  stronger  and 
better  furnished  with  another  who  has  a  conscious 
need."  His  method  of  questioning  was  calculated 
to  draw  real  knowledge  into  adequate  expression  ; 
but  it  was  equally  w^ell  fitted  to  expose  ignorance 
and  make  conceit  ridiculous.  He  sometimes  made 
the  contact  vital  by  first  cutting  to  the  quick,  and 
aroused  the  "  conscious  need "  by  making  a  student 
smart  for  a  time  for  wounded  vanity.  Some  of 
these  wounds  were  long  in  healing,  but  the  great  ma- 
jority of  students  soon  understood  the  underlying 
kindness  of  this  spiritual  surgery,  and  were  grateful  for 
it.  His  questions  called  forth  some  strange  answers.  A 
student,  being  asked  whether  the  English  or  Hebrew 
language  was  the  warmer,  gave  his  opinion  in  favor 
of  his  mother  tongue.  "  Why  do  you  think  so  ?" 
asked  the  Doctor.  "  Because  the  Hebrew  is  a  dead 
language,"  was  the  ready  reply.  Doubtless  Hebrew 
was  made  warmer  for  him  after  that.  It  may  be 
that  Dr.  Hemenway  learned  the  value  of  occasional 


Si  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

severity  from  Dr.  Dempster.  It  is  related  of  the 
latter  that  he  said  to  a  student  who  had  just  at- 
tempted to  recite :  '"''  Your  thought  has  been  buried 
in  the  tomb  of  your  words /^  and  that  after  announc- 
ing that  a  certain  man  would  not  return  to  finish  his 
course  of  study  because  he  had  been  married,  he  pro- 
nounced his  sentence  in  a  deep  voice  thus:  "  Plunged 
into  the  bottomless  gulf  of  oblivion  !"  * 

Dr.  Hemenway  sometimes  followed  an  incorrect 
answer  by  a  peculiarly  emphatic  ^'  Never.''  An  ex- 
aminer once  perplexed  a  student  about  the  word 
translated  ^^  beginning/'  in  the  first  verse  of  Genesis, 
which  the  examiner  spoke  of  as  a  ^'  participle." 
Coming  to  the  student's  rescue,  the  Professor  asked 
him  if  the  Hebrew  word  in  question  was  a  participle. 
"  Not  here,  I  think,"  was  the  response.  ^^  No,"  said 
Dr.  Hemenway,  '"'  not  here  nor  anywhere  else."  But 
as  a  rule  it  was  a  scimiter  and  not  a  sledge-hammer 
which  he  wielded.  I  have  been  more  than  once  re- 
minded of  the  Arabian  story  of  a  Damascus  blade, 
which  its  owner  would  swing  swiftly  around  the  head 
of  his  enemy.  The  unconscious  vigtim  sat  smiling 
until  a  pinch  of  snuff  made  him  sneeze.  At  this  his 
severed  head  rolled  to  the  ground.  The  laugh  of  the 
class  was  sometimes  the  first  intimation  a  student  had 
of  his  sudden  execution. 

In  social  intercourse  he  had  many  a  hearty  and 
good-humored  laugh  over  the  incidents  of  his  pas- 
toral and  school  life.  He  told  me  once,  with  great 
enjoyment,  of  an  old  shoemaker  in  one  of  his  par- 
ishes into  whose  good  graces  he  found  it  exceedingly 
difficult  to  win  his  way.     The  old  man  kept  station- 


AT  EVANSrON.  85 

ery  and  other  articles  to  sell  in  his  shop,  and  Dr. 
Hemenway  went  out  of  his  way  to  purchase  there. 
At  length  the  old  man  thawed.  "I  like  you,"  he 
said.  ''I'm  glad  to  know  it.''  ''But  I  couldn't 
bear  that  other  preacher  who  was  here.  He  was  so 
close.  He  asked  me,  one  day,  what  the  price  of  a  pack- 
age of  envelopes  was,  and  I  says,  '  I  '11  let  you  have 
them  for  five  cents.'  '  What,'  says  he,  '  has  ent?f?opes 
riz?'" 

The  following,  from  a  member  of  the  last  class  he 
taught,*  represents  the  experience  of  a  large  number  r 

"My  first  impressions  of  him  were  not  favorable.  He 
appeared  stern  and  unsympathetic,  seldom  speaking  to  or  rec- 
ognizing us  on  the  street  or  in  the  post-office  when  we  chanced 
to  meet  him  ;  but  I  soon  learned  that  underneath  this  exterior, 
which  was  calculated  to  inspire  awe,  there  was  a  warm,  sympa- 
thetic nature  and  heart  w^hich  could  but  win  the  affection  of 
his  students  when  they  came  to  know  him  well." 

An  earlier  student f  writes: 

"  I  was  but  fourteen  years  old  when  I  registered  as  a  stu- 
dent for  the  ministry,  and  took  a  room  in  Heck  Hall.  Dr. 
Kidder  cordially  encouraged  me  when  I  timidly  told  him  my 
boyish  wish  to  become  a  preacher.  I  grew  up  on  the  old 
campus,  and  during  those  years  when  a  boy  is  most  deeply 
impressed  was  strongly  influenced  by  Dr.  Hemenway.  I  never 
saw  him  walking  the  old  paths  to  and  from  the  hall,  with  his 
peculiarly  emphatic  gait,  without  wishing  to  be  what  he 
seemed  to  be  so  thoroughly — a  Christian  gentleman.  I  think, 
by  his  manly  deference  in  manner  and  address,  he  knocked  off 
many  a  rough  corner  from  us  boys  without  knowing  it  him- 
self, and  without  our  being  aware  of  it.  He  was  especially 
considerate  of  those  who  were  trying,  as  I  did  for  two  years^ 


-Rev.  E.  M.  Glasgow,  class  of  1884. 
t  Rev.  R.  G.  Hobbs,  class  of  1878. 


86  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

to  do  that  very  hard  thing,  keep  up  with  a  class  and  carry  on 
the  work  of  a  pastoral  charge  at  the  same  time.  He  seemed 
to  appreciate  the  fact  that  the  fellows  who  were  thus  burning 
the  candle  at  both  ends  needed  special  encouragement,  and  he 
never  withheld  it.     His  sympathies  were  quick  and  warm." 

Another  alumnus  *  bears  this  testimony : 

"It  took  some  time  to  get  acquainted  with  him,  but  an 
acquaintance  with  such  a  character  was  something  to  be  highly 
valued.  How  he  prized  faithfulness !  *  A  lazy  student,'  he 
said  one  day,  *  may  have  a  call  to  the  ministry,  but  not  a  di- 
vine call.'  He  emphasized  the  word  'divine'  as  only  Dr. 
Hemenway  could.  In  more  than  one  of  his  classes  he  said 
things  severe  and  deservedly  severe.  On  one  of  these  occa- 
sions he  said:  *  Brethren,  you  are  fitting  yourselves  to  be  am- 
bassadors for  Christ.  If  you  are  unfaithful  to  your  studies  in 
the  Institute  you  will  be  unfaithful  to  your  duties  in  the  min- 
istry.' Who  can  forget  the  tone  of  his  voice  and  the  flash  of 
his  eye  in  administering  reproof?  No  cannon-ball  was  ever 
more  direct  than  his  words  at  such  a  time ;  yet  how  warm  and 
sympathetic  was  his  nature !  The  night  that  Dempster  Hall 
was  burned  I  barely  escaped  with  my  life.  When  I  appeared 
next  morning  in  the  Doctor's  recitation-room  the  earthly  house 
of  this  tabernacle  was  not  in  a  very  presentable  shape.  His 
sympathy,  expressed  in  words  and  deedz,  I  can  never  forget." 

Perhaps  there  was  no  part  of  his  teaching  enjoyed 
more  by  Dr.  Hemenway  and  his  classes  than  his  lec- 
tures on  hymnology.  His  love  for  Christian  hymns 
began  in  early  life,  and  his  critical  and  enthusiastic 
study  of  them  extended  through  many  years.  And 
in  the  minds  of  many,  his  memory  is  most  vividly 
associated  with  his  expositions  of  this  subject  in  the 
delightful  praise-meetings  which  he  led.  A  part  of 
the  results  of  his  hymn-studies  will  be  found  in  this 
volume;    but   the   richest   fruitage,  garnered    in    the 

-Rev.  John  Lee,  class  of  1882. 


AT  EVANSTON.  87 

Hymnal,  has  long  benefited  the  entire  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church. 

For  some  years  he  led  the  Tuesday  evening  class- 
meeting,  held  in  Dempster  Chapel.  Many  students 
have  borne  testimony  to  the  rare  helpfulness  of  the 
spiritual  counsels  given  there.  From  the  wealth  of 
his  knowledge  of  the  Bible,  of  Christian  hymns,  of 
religious  literature,  and  of  human  life,  but  most  of 
all  from  his  own  inner  life,  he  was  able  to  counsel, 
warn,  and  inspire  his  younger  brethren.  In  these 
meetings  he  seemed  to  come  closer  to  the  students, 
and  exhibited  a  pastor's  solicitude  for  their  welfare. 
Some,  who  thought  him  cold,  distant,  and  severe  as 
an  instructor,  discovered  in  the  class-room  the  warmth 
and  tenderness  of  his  heart. 

Those  students  who  went  to  him  for  advice  in 
times  of  perplexity  and  trouble,  could  never  again 
doubt  the  sincerity  and  warmtij  of  his  interest  in 
them.  And  by  some,  such  interviews  are  cherished 
in  memory  as  turning  points  in  their  lives.  To  such 
applicants  he  opened  the  secret  treasuries  of  his  mind 
and  heart.  His  interest  in  individual  students  was 
far  greater  than  was  generally  understood,  and  it  did 
not  cease  with  their  graduation. 

In  the  meetings  of  the  faculty  the  expressions  of 
his  judgment  concerning  students  and  alumni  had 
especial  weight.  When  some  alumnus  was  to  be  rec- 
ommended for  an  important  position  or  an  honorary 
degree,  Dr.  Hemenway  generally  had  the  fullest 
knowledge  of  his  course  and  success  since  graduation, 
and  his  discriminating  judgment  seemed  almost  in- 
fallible. 


88  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 

In  estimating  his  personal  influence,  account  should 
also  be  taken  of  his  visits  to  the  Western  conferences 
to  represent  the  Institute ;  of  his  services  at  Sunday- 
school  assemblies;  of  his  articles  contributed  to  the 
religious  press,  particularly  the  Northwestern  Christian 
Advocate  aud  the  Methodist  Review.  These  fugitive 
writings  related  mainly  to  Biblical  subjects  and  prac- 
tical discussions  of  a  pastor's  work.  It  was  largely 
through  his  efforts  that  the  Pastors'  Theological  Union 
was  organized  and  held  annually  for  several  years  at 
Evanston,  meetings  which  Avere  most  profitable  both 
to  its  members  and  to  the  Institute.  In  1875  there 
were  present  six  bishops  and  two  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  pastors,  representing  thirty-three  an- 
nual conferences. 

The  witnesses  already  summoned  bear  testimony 
to  the  unique  influence  which  Dr.  Hemenway  ex- 
erted. Others  will,  in  a  later  chapter,  emphasize  this 
fact.  But  no  description  can  adequately  represent 
this  power.  It  was  as  subtle  and  undefinable  as  life. 
It  was  the  result  of  unusual  character,  in  which  gen- 
uineness, unselfish  devotion,  and  deep  spiritual  expe- 
rience were  the  ruling  elements. 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT.  89 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

IN   LABORS   MORE    ABUNDANT. 
1874--I884. 

AT  the  session  of  the  Michigan  conference,  in  the 
autumn  of  1875,  Dr.  Hemenway  was  elected  a 
delegate  to  the  General  Conference,  which  convened 
in  Baltimore  May  1st  of  the  following  year.  Like 
many  of  the  ablest  men  in  great  representative  bodies, 
his  voice  was  not  heard  in  public  debate.  He  ren- 
dered valuable  service  in  the  Committees  on  Education 
and  Conference  Boundaries,  and  his  letters  from  the ' 
conference  show  his  devotion  to  all  the  interests  of 
the  church,  and  his  discriminating  judgment  of  men 
and  measures.  The  questions  of  the  color-line,  of 
woman's  place  in  the  church,  and  of  the  presiding 
eldership,  were  especially  prominent.  On  each  of 
these  he  had  clear  convictions,  but  made  no  public 
expression  of  them  beyond  his  vote.  If  we  regret 
this  reserve,  we  can  not  fail  to  admire  the  modesty 
which  caused  it.  He  took  a  deep  interest  in  visits  to 
Alexandria,  Washington,  and  Mt.  Yernon,  and  es- 
pecially in  the  new  phases  of  life  which  these  places 
presented.  He  enjoyed  lectures  by  Beecher,  Simpson, 
and  Fowler,  and  the  rich  succession  of  great  sermons 
and  eloquent  addresses  which  a  Methodist  General 
Conference  always  affords.     He  made  a  pilgrimage  to 

7 


90  BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH. 

the  graves  of  Asbury  and  Lee.  This  month,  spent  in 
Baltimore,  extended  his  influence  through  the  friend- 
ships strengthened  and  formed  with  leading  men  in 
the  church ;  but  the  matter  which  made  it  possible 
for  him  to  render  an  important  service  to  every  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  church,  for  decades  to  come, 
was  the  action  of  the  conference  ordering  the  revision 
of  the  church  Hymn-book.  When  a  committee  to  do 
this  work  was  appointed  by  the  bishops,  it  was  a  matter 
of  course  that  Dr.  Hemenway  should  be  a  member  of 
it,  and  it  caused  no  surprise  that  he  Avas  chosen  chair- 
man of  the  Western  section. 

By  poetic  temperament,  practical  judgment,  and 
long-continued  study  of  hymnology.  Dr.  Hemenway 
was  peculiarly  fitted  for  this  service.  It  is  no  injus- 
tice to  the  other  members  of  this  excellent  committee 
to  say  that  few  of  its  number  did  so  much  as  he,  and 
no  one  more,  to  make  the  Hymnal  the  admirable 
book  it  is.  From  the  first  he  gave  himself  to  this 
labor  of  love  with  untiring  enthusiasm.  He  attended 
all  the  meetings  of  his  section  and  of  the  general 
committee.  From  the  early  summer  of  1876,  until 
the  publication  of  the  Hymnal  in  the  autumn  of  1877, 
his  heart  and  mind  seemed  full  of  this  subject.  Two 
summer  vacations  were  devoted  almost  exclusively  to 
it.  He  is  obliged  to  confess  it  a  ^^  prodigious  job.'' 
The  entire  committee  met  twice  in  New  York,  and 
once  each  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  East  Greenwich, 
R.  I.  The  work  was  done  with  great  thoroughness 
and  system.  Every  hymn  passed  in  review  three 
times,  once  privately  and  twice  in  the  committee, 
where   "debates  arose   and  sometimes  continued    for 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT.  91 

hours  on  a  single  hymn  or  part  of  a  hymn/'  The 
sessions  often  continued  until  late  at  night.  Dr. 
Hemenway  was  detailed  more  than  once  for  special 
services.  He  was  one  of  the  sub-committee  which 
submitted  the  results  to  the  Board  of  Bishops,  and  he 
was  one  of  the  two  selected  to  arrange  the  Hymnal 
with  tunes,  in  conjunction  with  Dr.  Eben  Tourjee 
and  Mi:.  J.  P.  Holbrook.  Dr.  Hemenway  prepared 
the  greater  part  of  the  report  on  the  revision 
which  was  presented  to  the  bishops,  and  which 
forms  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  history  of  hym- 
nology.  *  The  chapters  on  hymnology  contained  in 
this  volume  took  shape  soon  after  the  completion  of 
the  revision. 

The  period  during  which  these  labors  on  the 
Hymnal  were  in  progress  was  one  of  the  darkest  in 
the  financial  history  of  the  Institute.  Yet,  as  he  de- 
voted the  usual  time  for  summer  rast  and  recupera- 
tion to  severe  and  gratuitous  toil  for  the  good  of  the 
church,  he  wrote  courageously  of  this  gloomy  outlook 
for  the  school :  ^^  I  have  faith  that  God  will  do  his 
work  if  w^e  do  ours,  and  certainly  it  is  not  our  work 
to  determine  the  conditions  of  our  own  labors." 
Speaking  of  his  spirit  and  counsels  at  this  time.  Dr. 
Raymond  says: 

"In  the  darkest  hour  of  our  history,  when  the  trustees  in- 
formed us  that  the  entire  resources  of  the  institution  would  be 
absorbed  in  the  payment  of  the  interest  on  its  indebtedness, 
and  there  would  not  be  a  dollar  left  with  which  to  continue 
the  school,  and  when  the  faculty  were  called  together  to  con- 


*  The  first  tweuty-two  pages  of  the  report,  as  printed,  were  written 
by  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  M.  Buckley. 


92  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 

sider  the  communication  from  the  trustees,  Dr.  Hemenway 
said  at  once,  most  emphatically:  '  Wliatever  it  may  cost  us  as 
teachers,  the  doors  of  the  Institute  must  not  be  closed.'  He 
proposed  the  measure  which  was  adopted,  and  which,  so  far 
as  the  faculty  was  concerned,  was  the  means  of  tiding  the  in- 
stitution into  the  broad  seas  of  its  present  prosperity." 

In  addition  to  his  other  work,  Dr.  Hemenway  also 
supplied  the  church  at  South  Evanston,  which,  in 
loving  memory  of  faithful  and  fruitful  service,  upon 
the  completion  of  its  handsome  new  edifice,  named  it 
the  '^  Hemenway  Memorial.''  The  Hon.  M.  D. 
Ewell,  LL.  D.,  contributes  this  concerning  Dr.  Hem- 
enway's  pastorate  there : 

"I  think  I  was  the  first  person  who  had  an  interview  with 
him  respecting  his  coming  to  serve  this  church,  and  I  well 
remember  the  then  depressed  condition  of  the  society.  There 
were  no  striking  events  during  his  service,  but  our  intercours  ^ 
with  him,  from  first  to  last,  was  characterized  by  the  utmost 
fraternal  feeling,  and  I  may  add,  affection.  His  work  was 
faithful  and  prospered  from  beginning  to  end.  I  have  never 
known  a  man  more  universally  beloved  and  respected  than 
was  Dr.  Hemenway  by  this  society.  I  have  never  known  a 
man  more  entirely  unselfish  in  his  relations  with  his  people 
than  was  Dr.  Hemenway.  Whenever  any  benevolent  or 
church  enterprise  was  being  canvassed,  he  always  quietly  but 
firmly  insisted  upon  doing  more  for  it  than  we  thought  he 
ought  to  do.  In  making  these  statements  I  feel  sure  that  I 
represent  the  feeling  of  all  who  knew  him.  Personally  I  had 
the  utmost  respect  for  his  ability,  the  most  unbounded  confi- 
dence in  his  piety,  and  very  great  affection  for  him  as  a  man 
and  a  brother." 

There  is  reason  for  believing  that  the  extra  ex- 
ertion required  for  this  gratuitous  work  upon  the 
Hymnal  may  have  shortened  his  life.  At  all  events, 
the  slow  decline  of  strength  began   about   this  time. 


IN  LABORS  MORE   ABUNDANT.  93 

After  the  publication  of  the  Hymnal  the  usual  duties 
of  his  chair  were  supplemented  by  the  completion  of 
a  commentary,  which  had  been  begun  some  two  years 
earlier.  This  was  Dr.  Hemenway's  most  important 
individual  publication.  It  treated  of  the  books  of 
Jeremiah  and  the  Lamentations,  and,  together  with 
the  Commentary  on  Isaiah  by  Dr.  Henry  Bannister, 
forms  the  seventh  volume  of  Whedon's  Commentary. 
It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  no  one  of  the  three  dis- 
tinguished men,  whose  names  appear  on  the  title-page 
of  this  book,  lived  to  see  the  completed  volume. 
This  commentary  exhibits  the  same  qualities  which 
marked  Dr.  Hemenway^s  instruction.  It  is  clear, 
scholarly,  independent,  and  spiritual,  and  takes  rank 
with  the  best  in  this  valuable  series. 

In  1879  Dr.  Hemenway  was  again  chosen  by  his 
brethren  of  -the  Michigan  conference  to  represent 
them  in  the  General  Conference  which  met  in  Cin- 
cinnati in  1 880.  Here  he  did  quiet  but  efficient  serv- 
ice, especially  in  the  Committee  on  Education,  of 
which  he  was  secretary,  and  Dr.  E.  O.  Haven 
chairman. 

Dr.  Hemenway \s  entire  public  life  adds  another 
exception  to  the  rule  that  a  powerful  physique  and 
robust  health  are  essential  to  great  usefulness  in  re- 
sponsible positions.  He  never  excused  himself  from 
duty  on  the  ground  of  invalidism,  nor  did  he  seem 
to  regard  himself  an  invalid ;  yet  it  was  only  by  the 
most  careful  regard  for  the  laws  of  health,  and  the 
concentration  of  his  forces  upon  a  few  lines  of  effort, 
that  he  was  able  to  accomplish  what  he  undertook 
without  overtaxing  his  strength.     He  waged  a  forty 


94  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 

years^  war  with  disease,  and  contested  every  point 
with  wisdom  and  courage ;  and  if  a  slow  retreat  was 
inevitable,  it  was  masterly  and  honorable.  With  a 
cheerful  courage,  recognizing  the  early  and  irrepa- 
rable impairment  of  his  constitution,  he  carefully  con- 
served his  strength  and  devoted  it  to  the  highest 
ends.  In  the  spring  of  1881,  however,  it  became 
manifest  to  his  friends  and  to  himself  that  his  health 
was  seriously  threatened.  He  planned  to  spend  the 
summer  months  at  the  sea-shore,  but  was  finally  in- 
duced to  try  the  effects  of  an  ocean  voyage  and  a 
short  tour  in  the  Old  World.  He  sailed  for  Europe 
the  latter  part  of  July,  in  company  with  his  son, 
Henry  B.  Hemenway,  M.  D.  In  a  hurried  trip,  oc- 
cupying less  than  three  months,  they  visited  parts  of 
Scotland,  England,  France,  Germany,  and  Switzer- 
land. His  letters  show  that  he  was  a  good  traveler, 
tempering  an  intelligent  enthusiasm  with  sensible 
moderation.  He  did  not  wear  himself  out  in  the  effort 
to  see  everything  in  every  place,  but  sought  to  select 
and  study  typical  specimens  of  the  various  objects  of 
interest.  Facing  the  Atlantic  voyage  for  the  first 
time,  he  writes  home:  "I  know  you  are  more  or  less 
solicitous  for  me,  but  I  hope  you  will  not  be  at  all 
anxious.  It  seems  evident  that  I  am  walking  in  the 
way  of  Providence,  and  if  so  I  must  be  safe.  And 
I  want  to  say  that  even  if  it  should  be  God's  will 
to  overwhelm  me  and  remove  me  by  some  unforeseen 
dangers,  which  are  always  liable  to  come,  I  believe  it 
will  be  well  with  me.  I  have  a  vivid  and  ofttimes 
oppressive  sense  of  my  sins  and  shortcomings,  and 
never,  perhaps,  was  that  sense  more  vivid  than  now. 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT.  95 

as  I  write ;  but  I  do  honestly  seek  to  give  myself  to 
Christ,  and  I  believe  he  accepts  and  saves  me.  I 
never  felt  more  unqualifiedly  determined,  living  and 
dying,  to  be  the  Lord's." 

Writing  in  1882  to  a  friend  who  was  starting  for 
a  foreign  trip  he  said :  '^  How  this  year,  under  God's 
blessing,  may  be  made  to  enrich  your  w^hole  life,  and, 
through  the  work  you  shall  do,  the  lives  of  many 
others  also.  There  is  a  supreme  instant  in  the  pho- 
tographer's art  when  what  had  been  a  mere  cloud, 
with  dim  and  scarcely  distinguishable  outline,  be- 
comes a  perfect  picture,  so  truthful  and  so  expressive 
as  to  be  beyond  all  price.  So  will  this  year,  which 
is  before  you,  be  made  up  largely  of  such  moments. 
The  places  and  scenes  which  are  old  in  your  memory 
will  come  again  into  your  life  as  new  creations." 
After  mentioning  some  of  the  principal  places  he  had 
visited  abroad,  he  added:  ^^  We  had  the  satisfaction, 
also,  of  standing  by  the  graves  of  many  of  God's 
heroes,  of  whose  names  this  sheet  is  not  worthy;  and 
some  glorious  visions  entered  our  souls,  which,  I  am 
sure,  will  be  lost  only,  if  at  all,  in  the  beatific  state." 

One  of  these  visions  is  described  in  a  letter  which 
he  wrote  home  from  Interlaken :  "  We  have  had 
glory  enough  for  one  day.  At  ten  o'clock  we  left 
Basle  and  came  through  Berne  into  this  Alpine 
region.  I  can  not  tell  you  what  I  have  seen  since 
then.  It  is  an  experience  of  a  life-time.  All  the 
way  from  Berne  the  Alps  were  coming  more  grandly 
into  view,  until  as  we  took  the  boat  on  Lake  Thun 
the  culmination  w^as  realized.  The  beautiful  water  of 
the  lake  was  broken  into  fine  ripples,  which  sparkled 


96  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

in  the  sunbeams  like  a  pavement  of  precious  stones. 
In  the  near  foreground  were  the  bold,  precipitous 
mountains.  ;A  little  farther  oflP  the  peaks  rose  above 
them,  streaked  with  white;  and  just  beyond,  and  yet 
so  near  us  as  to  seem  absolutely  startling,  were  the 
great  forms  which  wear  an  eternal  livery  of  white.  It 
was  almost  like  confronting  the  Great  White  Throne. 
They  looked  down  upon  us  and  drew  near  to  us  like 
the  Infinite  Presence.  I  never  had  any  just  concep- 
tion of  mountain  scenery  before.'^ 

Dr.  Hemenway  returned  from  Europe  with  his 
health  decidedly  improved,  and  resumed  with  ardor 
his  accustomed  labors.  If  he  had  premonitions  that 
there  remained  but  three  years  more  in  which  to 
finish  his  work,  he  gave  no  outward  sign  of  them.  In 
the  home,  the  Institute,  and  the  church  he  bore  his 
part  as  before.  If  any  change  was  noticed  it  was  that 
the  fruitage  of  his  mind  and  heart  seemed  more 
abundant  and  rich.  Perhaps  he  was  more  careful  to 
take  rest  and  exercise,  yet  he  could  accomplish  more 
in  the  same  time  than  in  earlier  years. 

The  letters  written  to  his  sons  during  the  last 
decade  contain,  in  a  condensed  form,  the  results  of 
his  experience,  and  one  might  almost  say  his  philos- 
ophy of  life.  Two  characteristic  utterances  from 
these  letters  are  the  following : 

"  I  always  want  you  to  feel  that  you  represent  us,  your 
parents,  and  are  to  represent  us  when  we  have  ceased  work- 
ing; and  so  I  want  you  to  be  strong  and  true  and  high-minded, 
cherishing  at  all  times  a  vivid  sense  of  the  dignity  and  the 
sacredness  of  life." 

"  I  wish  you  may  feel  deeply  and  always,  and  that  you 
may  live  it  out  continually,  that  no  life  is  worth  living  that 
does  not  spend  itself  mainly  in  helping  other  people." 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT.  97 

A  long  letter  is  preserved,  written  to  his  elder 
son  when  he  was  absent  from  home,  pursuing  his 
medical  studies.  It  would  prove  a  safe  chart  to  any 
young  physician  and  helpful  to  any  student.  The 
product  of  wide  observation  and  deep  thought,  it  is 
written  with  the  simplicity  and  warmth  which  it  re- 
ceived in  the  depths  of  an  affectionate  father's  heart. 
As  expressing  his  mature  judgment  upon  the  condi- 
tions of  a  truly  successful  life,  it  may  fitly  close  this 
chapter : 

"  I  write,  then,  at  this  time,  not  to  administer  to  you  a 
lecture,  nor  to  change  you  from  what  you  really  are,  but  to 
suggest  some  things  which  may  possibly  be  of  some  practical 
value  to  you  this  coming  term  of  school,  which  will  be  to  you 
of  superlative  importance. 

*'  First  of  all,  let  me  charge  you  to  look  wisely  and  watch- 
fully after  your  physical  well-being.  The  importance  of  this 
is  being  constantly  impressed  upon  you,  both  by  what  you 
learn  and  what  you  see.  Be  sure  and  dress  yourself  warmly 
this  winter,  and  see  that  the  best  conditions  of  warmth  and 
pure  air  are  supplied  in  your  room.  Allow  of  no  strain  too 
severe  on  your  nervous  system.  Do  not  permit  your  laudable 
zeal  in  study  to  induce  overwork.  It  is  better  for  such  as  you 
to  make  haste  slowly  than  to  kindle  the  fire  too  hotly.  I 
would  then  make  this  first  point  with  myself,  that  I  will  look 
after  the  body  first,  and  let  other  things  rest  on  this  as  a  ground 
condition ;  and  whatever  is  necessary  to  this  I  want,  you  to  have, 
suitable  clothing,  wholesome  food,  a  pleasant  room,  and  gener- 
ally comfortable  conditions  of  living.  All  this  is,  as  you  know, 
consistent  with  rigorous  physical  discipline.  It  does  not  mean 
that  you  are  to  live  a  life  of  luxury  or  indolence,  or  of  uncertain 
and  nerveless  exertion,  but  it  is  consistent  with  patient  indus- 
try and  vigorous  eftbrt.  It  only  means  that  you  are  to  care- 
fully consider  your  bodily  habits,  and  adapt  your  habits  of  life 
to  your  capital  of  strength  and  vitality.  With  your  lithe  and 
active  temperament,  you  are  capable  of  the  best  things  phys- 
ically under  judicious  care;  without  this,  you  can  very  easily 


98  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

make  shipwreck.  I  am  the  more  careful  to  speak  of  this  be- 
cause I  am  entirely  certain  that  I  have  lost  fully  ten  years  of 
my  life  simply  because  I  did  not  know  how  to  use  myself  at 
the  very  start.  I  would  repeat  it,  then — make  it  a  point  to 
take  good  care  of  yourself  physically.  If  you  have  not  now 
and  do  not  secure  a  room-mate,  so  as  to  make  it  better  for  you 
than  to  be  alone,  by  all  means  keep  the  room  you  have  rented 
for  yourself  alone.  The  better  arrangement,  however,  when 
your  social  and  intellectual  character  is  considered,  is  to  have 
a  room-mate,  provided  he  is  of  tlie  right  stamp. 

J' Let  me  say  a  word  as  to  your  intellectual  life.  Probably 
more  than  ought  to  be  the  case,  you  are  likely  to  be  judged  by 
your  fellow-men  by  purely  intellectual  and  practical  standards. 
The  question  will  not  be,  What  are  you  ?  but,  HtDw  much  do 
you  know?  and,  AVhat  can  you  do?  Your  power  to  influence 
and  benefit  your  fellow-men  will  depend  largely  on  the  breadth 
and  fineness  of  j'our  culture,  as  well  as  your  acquaintance  with 
the  principles  and  practice  of  your  profession;  and  inasmuch 
as  the  best  results  in  this  direction  can  come  only  from  a  cor- 
rect ideal  and  an  established  habit  or  course  of  life,  I  am  sure 
that  any  well-considered  suggestions  on  this  subject  may  be, 
to  some  extent,  serviceable.  Of  course  you  must  know  your 
profession.  Common  honesty  requires  this.  There  is  no  man 
before  the  public  more  really  dishonest  than  he  who  professes 
a  science  and  a  practice  like  that  of  medicine  without  under- 
standing it.  Be  more  careful  to  know  than  to  seem  to  know. 
Discriminate  with  the  utmost  care  between  the  great  things 
and  the  small.  A  thousand  little  things  may  wait  for  your 
knowledge  until  you  need  them,  and  then  you  will  know  just 
where  to  find  them ;  but  the  great  and  fundamental  matters 
in  your  calling  should  be  as  familiar  as  household  words.  The 
oflftce  of  the  school  is  simply  to  inaugurate  a  course  of  life,  not 
to  carry  it  forward  to  perfection ;  hence,  in  the  school,  it  is 
vastly  more  important  that  your  work  be  thorough  than  that 
it  be  brilliant  or  extensive. 

"  But  it  is  of  your  intellectual  life  in  general  that  I  would 
speak.     He  who  knows  only  the  matters  of  his  profession  and 
is   noticeably   ignorant   on  other   matters   can    not    succeed 
People  want  a  man  in  a  physician — one  who  has  some  breadth 
of  adjustment  in  the  kingdom  of   the  truth.     lie  who  is  a 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT.  99 

good  practitioner,  and,  in  addition,  is  a  cultured  and  manly 
man,  will  be  likely  to  realize  in  any  community,  in  the  long 
run,  many  times  more  patronage  and  more  influence  than  the 
man  who  is  equally  skillful  but  lacking  in  the  more  general 
and  outside  qualifications  to  which   I   now  refer.     Hence  I 
would  urge  upon  you  the  importance  of  keeping  up  your  lit- 
erary culture.     Do  this  as  a  settled  and  inflexible  principle. 
Do  not  allow  any  supposed  press  of  duties  to  stand  in  the  way 
of  it.     Just  as  nothing  should  be  allowed  to  crowd  out  your 
Bible  and  your  religion,  so  let  nothing  stand  in  the  way  of 
those  great  duties  which  you  owe  yourself  as  a  man.     What 
is  needed  for  this  is  not  much  time,  but  a  little  time  faithfully 
and  wisely  employed.     Keep  up  a  knowledge  of  the  authors 
you  have  read  in  the  school.    Take  some  Latin  author,  as  Vir- 
gil, and  read  it  so  frequently  and  regularly  that  you  shall  keep 
fresh  your  acquaintance  with  the  language.     It  would  be  well, 
also,  to  do  the  same  with  the  French  and  the  German.    You 
will'find,  in  the  end,  that  all  this  will  tell  immeasurably  on  your 
well-being  as  a  man  among  men.     It  is  your  most  sacred  duty, 
as  well  as  your  just  privilege  and  honor,  to  fit  yourself  to  sit 
down  in  the  company  of  the  learned.    You  can  only  do  this 
by  patient,  faithful,  and  laborious  culture. 

"All  this  applies  also  to  English  literature.  Form  the 
habit  of  reading  the  best  authors.  Do  not  attempt  too  much 
at  once,  but  have  constantly  in  reading  something  that  will 
bring  you  nearer  other  men.  Your  great  hope  in  this  life  will 
consist  in  cultivating  the  society  of  cultured  people,  most  of 
whom  must  be  drawn  to  you  by  considerations  outside  of  your 
profession.  The  well-known  and  standard  works  in  English 
literature  may  become  links  of  union  between  yourself  and  all 
who  speak  the  English  language.  In  this  there  is  a  hint  as  to 
your  evenings.  In  so  far  as  possible,  I  should  prefer  to  turn 
away  from  medical  matters  during  the  evening  hours.  Take 
up  something  of  an  entirely  diff"erent  character,  and  it  will 
give  tone  and  zest  to  your  whole  mental  experiences.  You 
will  do  better  work  in  your  studies  if  you  turn  away  from 
them  habitually  every  day  for  something  higher  or  more  gen- 
eral in  its  bearing  on  life. 

"  I  wish  I  could  say  some  helpful  word  to  you  on  another 
and  a  much  higher  subject.     I  mean  that  of  character.     In  this 


100  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 

word  is  contained  all  of  real  worth  in  any  individual.  With- 
out any  reference  to  mere  qualifications,  whether  of  this  kind 
or  that,  the  amount  of  real  character  in  a  man  is  the  measure 
of  his  worth.  And  this  is  certainly  under  our  personal  decis- 
ion and  control  as  nothing  else  is.  Rich  or  poor,  learned  or 
unlearned,  influential  or  obscure,  it  is  possible  for  him  who 
wills  to  form  a  positive,  clean-cut,  decided  character.  Here  is 
his  real  personality,  and  here  is  to  be  his  real  value  to  himself 
and  to  his  fellow-men.  What  we  do  is  important,  but  what  we 
are  is  inefiably  more  important. 

"  One  of  the  main  factors  in  character  is  what  we  call 
judgment.  This,  combined  with  the  power  to  do  and  to  con- 
serve, practically  makes  up  the  man  as  an  actual  fierce  iti  soci- 
ety. To  say  that  any  person  has  good  judgment  is  to  bestow 
on  him  a  high  commendation  ;  to  say  that  one  has  a  weak  judg- 
ment is  to  make  of  him  a  fatal  impeachment.  It  is  well,  then, 
for  any  man  to  direct  his  own  special  attention  to  the  condi- 
tions of  strength  in  this  regard.  Avoid  hasty  and  superficial 
judgments — mere  impressions,  which  we  take  up  simply  be- 
cause they  suit  our  moods  or  our  prejudices.  Judgment  is 
mainly  a  matter  of  thought,  not  feeling.  Cultivate,  then,  a 
judicial  habit  of  mind.  Make  it  a  point  to  give  every  one  his 
due.  Be  candid,  but  be  thorough  and  positive.  In  a  word, 
see  to  it  that  you  become  a  man  of  convictions,  and  that  your 
convictions  are  sound. 

"This  quality  of  mind  comes  out  into  what  we  call  prac- 
ti£al  sense,  a  thing  upon  which  our  own  success  depends  as 
upon  nothing  else;  for,  after  all,  it  is  not  what  we  wish  or 
purpose  or  say  that  determines  our  adjustment  to  our  fellow- 
men,  but  the  decisions  we  do  actually  make  and  the  things  we 
actually  achieve.  ...  In  your  own  consciousness,  then,  lay 
greatest  emphasis  upon  your  judgment,  and  the  way  in  which 
it  can  be  carried  into  effect.  Do  not  make  it  ^o  much  a  matter 
of  word  as  of  deed.  Not  what  we  promise  ourselves  or  others, 
but  what  we  effect,  will  fix  our  standing  with  our  fellows. 

"  In  this  matter  of  character,  of  course,  the  most  vital 
element  is  the  moral  one.  Be  satisfied  with  nothing  short  of 
the  most  thorough  truthfulness^,  not  merely  in  business  and  in 
language,  but  in  thought  and  feeling.  Cultivate  and  maintain 
a  downright  honesty.     I  fully  believe  you  are  doing  this,  yet 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT.  101 

too  much  emphasis  can  not  be  placed  on  this  njatter.  I  hope 
that  you  will  begin  your  life  with  the  resolution  that  nothing 
foul  or  impure  shall  pass  your  own  lips,  and,  in  so  far  as  you 
can  prevent  it,  your  ears  too.  As  you  move  among  men  and 
families,  let  there  be  no  taint  or  foulness  because  of  your 
presence. 

*'  And  I  would  say  one  word  touching  the  matter  of  personal 
religion.  Cling  to  it  and  maintain  it  as  for  your  life.  Do  not 
in  this  thing  be  time-serving  and  compromising.  Your  best 
interests  for  time  and  eternity  lie  in  the  direction  of  positive- 
ness  and  ponsistency  in  this  regard.  Calculate,  then,  on  doing 
your  duty  fully  and  regularly  in  this  regard.  Make  it  a  mat- 
ter of  principle  to  be  in  your  place  in  the  church,  the  prayer- 
meeting,  and  the  Sabbath-school.  Let  it  be  understood  as  a 
matter  of  course  that  you  will  stand  in  your  lot  and  place  in 
all  religious  assemblages  that  have  a  just  claim  upon  you. 
Even  this  winter  I  would  make  it  a  point  to  attend  the  prayer- 
meeting  every  Wednesday  evening,  unless  there  are  impera- 
tive reasons  against  it. 

"One  other  thing  I  would  call  your  attention  to;  namely, 
your  f^ocial  character  and  adjustments.  It  is  a  great  thing  to 
be  admitted  into  good  society.  In  order  to  do  this  it  is  neces- 
sary to  cultivate  the  qualities  which  render  your  presence  de- 
sirable. It  is  also  necessary  to  observe  carefully  the  social 
opportunities  and  facilities  which  are  afforded  you.  Make  it 
a  point  to  cultivate  any  relations  which  are  likely  to  be  help- 
ful to  you  and  to  elevate  you.  Do  not  throw  away  a  valuable 
acquaintance  or  friend.  If  any  door  is  open  to  you  for  social 
intercourse,  especially  with  families  which  would  help  and 
raise  you,  be  sure  and  enter;  and  when  you  go  out,  leave  it 
ajar  for  another  occasion. 

"But  I  had  not  thought  to  write  at  such  length.  My 
special  wish  was  to  put  down  some  thoughts  which  have  been 
running  in  my  mind,  more  or  less,  with  reference  to  you.  In 
my  early  life  I  had  to  stumble  and  blunder  along  as  best  I 
could,  with  little  help  from  any  one.  I  clearly  see  how  it 
might  have  been  much  better  with  me,  and  so  I  feel  a  desire 
that  the  very  best  may  come  to  you." 


102  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

IN  MEMORIAM— 1884. 

THE  close  of  the  Institute  year,  in  the  spring  of 
1883,  was  darkly  shadowed  by  the  sudden  death 
of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Henry  Bannister,  who  had  been  Pro- 
fessor of  Exegetical  Theology  since  1856.  In  de- 
scribing this  event.  Dr.  Hemenway  wrote :  "  It  is 
safe  to  say  that  no  other  death  has  so  stirred  our 
community  to  its  very  foundations.  The  influence 
he  has  exerted  in  shaping  and  developing  the  inner 
life  of  the  Institute  has  been  most  potent,  so  that  in 
its  presenrt  form  the  institution  is  as  much  the  ex- 
pression of  his  mind  as  of  any  one  who  has  had  a 
share  in  its  work.^'  The  resolutions  adopted  by  the 
faculty  were  prepared  by  Dr.  Hemenway,  and  con- 
tained this  testimonial :  ^^  For  twenty-seven  years  he 
has  been  associated  with  the  instruction  and  conduct 
of  the  school,  and  in  all  these  years  his  career  has 
been  distinguished  for  the  thoroughness  and  zeal  with 
which  he  devoted  himself  to  the  work  of  his  depart- 
ment and  the  general  welfare  of  the  institution.  He 
brought  to  the  chair  which  he  so  long  and  usefully 
filled  rare  qualifications,  uniting  the  experience  of  the 
teacher  with  the  aptitudes,  habits,  and  attainments  of 
the  scholar.  By  unremitting  study,  he  kept  abreast  of 
the  most  recent  results  of  Biblical  criticism.     He  was 


IN  MEMORIAM.  103 

a  wide  reader  and  an  accurate  and  profound  thinker. 
Hundreds  now  preaching  are  indebted  to  his  teach- 
ings for  the  evangelical  scripturalness  and  the  simple 
directness  which  characterize  their  preaching/^ 

At  the  beginning  of  the  summer  vacation  of  1883 
Dr.  Hemenway  found  himself  not  only  unusually 
worn  by  the  year's  work,  but  warned  by  serious 
symptoms  of  disease  to  take  active  measures  for  re- 
cuperation. The  summer  months  were,  therefore, 
mainly  spent  at  Saratoga  and  Clifton  Springs',  with 
favorable  but  not  wholly  satisfactory  results. 

In  September  he  entered  with  zeal  upon  the  new 
school  year.  An  additional  class  was  organized  by 
him  in  the  Biblical  Theology  of  the  Old  Testament, 
and  his  lectures  on  this  subject  were  listened  to  with 
marked  enthusiasm.  Although  his  work  wearied  him 
to  an  unusual  degree,  he  sought  relief  from  no  duties. 
He  would  often  return  from  the  class-room  or  pulpit 
so  exhausted  as  to  be  unable  to  do  his  usual  study 
and  writing.  He  expressed  to  Mrs.  Hemenway  the 
growing  conviction  that  his  public  work  must  soon 
be  given  up.  Yet,  outside  the  home  walls,  his  cour- 
age and  activity  gave  no  sign  of  flagging,  and  pre- 
cluded apprehension.  In  the  spring  of  1884  he 
yielded  to  an  urgent  request  to  take  a  Bible-class  in 
the  Sunday-school.  The  book  of  the  Revelation  was 
taken  up,  and  the  numbers  in  attendance  rapidly  in- 
creased. Among  the  words  spoken  here,  which 
proved  to  be  among  his  last  public  utterances,  these 
may  be  quoted : 

"It  is  possible  for  me,  on  this  first  day  of  February,  1884, 
unimportant  as  I  am,  to  live  the  life  of  God,  to  live  just  as  he 


104  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 

would  have  me,  as  truly  as  for  the  martyrs  and  the  great  men 
of  the  Church. 

"The  great  fact  of  God's  personal  love  to  us  is  the  one 
supreme  truth  which  heaven  has  for  us,  and  one  great  use  of 
earthly  loves  is  to  reveal  to  us,  in  some  measure,  this  love  of 
God.  If  my  mother  had  had  the  resources  of  Christ,  how 
much  she  would  have  done  for  me!  Christ  loves  me  more 
than  my  mother.  The  best  earthly  love  may  fail  me,  not  that 
of  Christ." 

On  the  evening  of  March  13th,  a  meeting  of 
the  faculty  was  prolonged  to  a  late  hour.  Returning 
home,  Dr.  Hemenway  was  unable  to  sleep.  The 
morning  brought  further  symptoms  of  illness,  and  yet 
only  a  few  days^  absence  from  his  classes  was  antici- 
pated by  any  one.  As  he  did  not  improve,  the  ex- 
pedient of  a  visit  to  his  son  in  Kalamazoo  was  recom- 
mended by  his  physician.  This  was  followed  by 
greater  weakness.  The  best  diagnosis  indicated  a 
slight  but  constant  intestinal  hemorrhage  as  the 
probable  cause  of  this  slow  but  steady  decline.  As 
he  was  able  he  directed  the  affairs  of  the  home  and 
his  classes.  He  assigned  private  work  to  the  latter, 
saying  that  they  should  not  meet  again  until  called. 
I  saw  him  often,  and  part  of  the  time  daily,  during 
the  five  weeks  of  his  illness.  He  usually  lay  upon  a 
lounge,  noticeably  weak,  yet  calm,  cheerful,  and  pos- 
sessing all  the  vivacity  and  clearness  of  his  mind  un- 
diminished. It  was  in  these  days  that  he  wrote  the 
description  of  the  old  school-house,  contained  in  an 
earlier  chapter.  He  reviewed  lists  of  books  to  be 
purchased  for  the  library,  of  which  he  had  been  cus- 
todian for  many  years.  According  to  a  request  of 
the  faculty  in  a  recent  meeting,  he    marked  in  a  cat- 


IN  MEMORIAM.  105 

alogue  the  names  of  those  alumni  whom  he  regarded 
as  suitable  candidates  for  special  honors.  But  the 
exhausting  disease  was  slowly  doing  its  fatal  work, 
and  on  Wednesday,  the  16th  of  April,  it  was  fully 
recognized  that  the  end  was  near.  During  this  last 
week  his  old  and  valued  friend,  the  Rev.  Dr.  R.  M. 
Hatfield,  called  and  prayed  at  his  bedside,  to  his 
heartily  expressed  satisfaction.  The  last  night  came 
at  length — that  of  the  18th  of  April.  It  may  be  best 
described  in  the  words  spoken  by  Bishop  Ninde  at 
the  funeral  services: 

"It  was  a  night  of  great  prostration  and  suffering.  His 
extreme  weakness  made  respiration  very  diflScult,  and  his  ef- 
forts to  speak  were  very  seldom  intelligible.  Toward  morning 
he  touchingly  said:  'I  did  not  know  I  was  so  sick.'  After 
prayer  had  been  offered  at  his  bedside,  he  reached  out  his 
arms  and  embraced  each  of  his  sons,  and  then  the  wife — whose 
devotion  had  been  so  untiring — kissing  them  his  last  farewell.* 
Thus  he  died,  in  that  home  which  had  been  to  him  the  most 
delightful  of  all  earthly  retreats,  surrounded  by  the  loved  and 
loving,  whose  society  had  more  than  satisfied  his  heart's 
eartlily  cravings,  and  in  the  midst  of  a  community  where  he 
was  widely  known  and  universally  revered  and  honored." 

The  funeral  services  were  held  at  the  First 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Evanston,  April  22d, 
and  were  attended  by  the  faculties  and  students  of 
the  Institute  and  Northwestern  University,  and  by  a 
large  number  of  alumni,  ministers  from  neighboring 
conferences,  and  friends  from  Chicago  and  Evanston. 
The    Church    and    family    pew    were    appropriately 

*The  other  surviving  member  of  Ills  immediate  family  was  Ruth 
Lilian,  infant  daughter  of  Henry  B.  and  Lillie  Bradley  Hemenway. 
Tlie  latter  died  about  a  j'ear  before  Dr.  Hemenway's  decease,  and, 
anticipating  death,  had  requested  that  her  little  daughter  should  be 
baptized  by  him  at  her  funeral.  This  touching  ceremony  was  the 
last  baptism  at  which  he  ever  officiated. 

8 


106  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

draped.  Many  floral  offerings  had  been  sent  as  to- 
kens of  affectionate  remembrance,  prominent  among 
which  were  a  chair  from  the  faculty  and  students  of 
the  Institute,  a  cross  and  crown  from  the  Sunday- 
school,  a  harp  from  his  Bible-class,  a  sheaf  and  sickle 
from  the  South  Evanston  Church  (his  last  pastoral 
charge),  an  open  Bible  and  a  broken  column  from 
personal  friends.  The  casket  was  borne  by  students 
of  the  Institute,  and  followed  by  the  pall-bearers, 
Judge  Goodrich,  Mr.  Orrington  Lunt,  Mr.  Frank  P. 
Crandon,  and  Drs.  Hitchcock,  Bonbright,  Marcy, 
Axtell,  and  Sheppard. 

The  services  began  with  the  singing  of  the  hymn, 
"My  Jesus,  as  thou  wilt,"  which  was  read  by  Rev. 
Washington  Gardner,  of  Kalamazoo,  Mich.  Presi-. 
dent  Cummings,  of  the  Northwestern  University,  then 
read  the  selections  from  the  Scriptures  which  had  been 
prepared  and  read  by  Dr.  Hemenway  at  the  funeral 
of  Dr.  Bannister  a  year  before. 

President  Ninde,  of  the  Institute,  read  an  admi- 
rable biographical  sketch,  which  need  not  be  repro- 
duced here.     In  closing,  he  said: 

"The  characteristics  of  such  a  man  can  not  be  summed  up 
in  a  brief  paragraph.  His  intellect  was  penetrating,  incisive, 
and  luminous.  He  seized  truth  with  the  promptness  of  intu- 
ition, and  developed  it  in  the  orderly  methods  of  the  most 
rigorous  logic.  He  rarely  revealed  the  materials  of  his  think- 
ing in  the  rough.  He  disclosed  only  the  finished  product. 
This  was  true  of  small  matters  as  well  as  great.  Thus  his 
views  were  uniformly  expressed  with  a  certain  sententiousness 
that  made  them  impressive  upon  other  minds.  He  was  very 
positive  in  his  conclusions  when  reached,  and  held  them  with 
great  tenacity,  yet  with  no  disposition  to  obtrude  them  upon 


IN  MEMORIAM.  107 

others  who  might  differ  from  him.  His  learniDg  was  copious, 
choice,  and  serviceable.  In  the  line  of  his  special  studies  his 
scholarship  was  critical,  profound,  and  accurate.  Every  intel- 
lectual task  was  performed  with  the  most  conscientious  fidelity. 
As  an  instance  of  this,  when  he  accepted  his  appointment  as 
one  of  the  revisers  of  the  Church  Hymnal,  he  gave  to  the  work 
his  absorbed  attention  through  an  entire  vacation — possibly  by 
these  strenuous  labors  hastening  that  fatal  event  which  makes 
sad  so  many  hearts  to-day. 

"But,  back  of  the  rich  and  cultured  intellect,  was  a  spirit 
so  pure,  so  elevated,  so  genial,  so  unselfish,  that  words  seem 
empty  and  powerless  to  express  its  nobleness.  A  more  unself- 
ish soul  I  never  knew;  never  asking  aught  for  himself,  ever 
considerate  of  the  interests  of  his  associates  and  friends. 
Words  and  acts  of  this  sainted  man,  too  sacred  for  publicity, 
wonderfully  drew  my  own  heart  toward  him.  And  so  there  is 
upon  me  to-day — and  doubtless  others  share  the  feeling — an 
oppressive  sense  of  loneliness.  Bannister  gone,  Hemenway 
gone!  The  old  familiar  places  seem  vacant  and  unutterably 
sad  without  them.  The  Holy  Oracles  themselves  seem  almost 
mute,  now  that  their  voices  are  hushed  in  the  stillness  of 
the  tomb. 

"I  can  not  close  without  referring  in  a  word  to  the  relig- 
ious character  of  our  departed  friend.  He  has  been  well-nigh 
a  life-long  Christian.  The  religious  life  in  him  was  thoroughly 
pervasive.  It  seemed  to  penetrate  every  fiber  of  his  moral 
being.  Without  being  demonstrative  or  strongly  emotional,  his 
nature  seemed  thoroughly  possessed  of  an  intelligent,  genial, 
soul-satisfying  piety." 

Rev.  Dr.  Miner  Raymond  was  the  next  speaker. 
He  said  that,  having  been  associated  for  nearly  a 
score  of  years  with  Dr.  Hemenway  in  the  work  of 
teaching,  it  seemed  not  inappropriate  that  he  should 
say  a  few  words  of  him  as  a  teacher: 

"A  successful  teacher  is  familiar  with  what  he  teaches; 
not  merelv  with  those  outlines  of  fundamental  ideas  which 


108  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 

thinkers,  not  specialists,  are  wont  to  have,  but  he  must  be 
familiar  with  the  minutiae  and  the  details  of  his  profession. 
More  than  this,  all  sciences  interpenetrate,  yet  they  may  be 
classified  in  clusters,  since  some  of  them  are  more  intimately 
related  to  each  other  than  they  are  to  others.  The  teacher 
must,  therefore,  be  qualified  to  point  out  both  these  intimate 
and  these  remote  relations.  In  a  word,  he  must  be  a  man  of 
"broad  culture. 

"Again,  the  successful  teacher  must  be  'apt  to  teach;'  he 
must  have  what  is  in  common  parlance  called  'tact,'  which  is 
more  of  the  nature  of  an  endowment  than  of  an  acquirement. 
It  is  a  sort  of  genius,  by  which  its  possessor  can  come  down 
from  above  to  the  plane  of  the  pupil,  and,  through  sympathy 
with  the  pupil's  requirements,  get  power  to  direct  his  thinking 
and  lead  him  upward. 

"The  successful  teacher  must  be  an  enthusiast  in  the 
specialty  that  engages  his  attention.  It  is  true,  a  man  other- 
wise qualified  for  his  work  may,  from  a  conscientious  sense  of 
duty,  be  so  faithful  and  efiicient  as  to  be  successful,  but  evi- 
dently it  will  be  far  better  if  his  heart  is  interested  in  what 
he  does.  This  is  true  in  any  avocation  in  life.  One  whose 
work  is  drudgery  to  him  will  accomplish  but  little  that  is  val- 
uable. Even  if  a  worker's  enthusiasm  is  inspired  by  an  over- 
estimate of  the  relative  value  of  his  work  as  compared  with 
that  of  other  employments,  still  it  will  be  no  detriment  to  his 
efficiency  and  s access,  but  contrariwise  will  be  every  way  ad- 
vantageous. But,  be  this  as  it  may,  surely  the  teacher  of  re- 
ligion has,  in  the  intrinsic  value  of  his  work,  a  rational  basis 
for  the  most  intense  interest. 

"Dr.  Hemenway  possessed  all  the  endowments  and  attain- 
ments of  which  we  have  spoken,  in  an  eminent  degree,  so 
that  it  may  be  said  that  he  had  few  equals. 

"  I  wish  to  say  a  word  of  his  interest  in  the  personal  wel- 
fare of  the  students.  Somehow  he  succeeded  in  making  an 
early  acquaintance  with  them,  sympathized  with  them  in  their 
wants  and  wishes,  aided  them  as  opportunity  and  ability  al- 
lowed, was  their  friend  while  here,  and  followed  them  in  their 
after  history ;  always  evincing  an  undying,  all-absorbing,  un- 
selfish interest  in  their  welfare. 


IN  MEMORIAM.  109 

"  As  an  associate,  I  may  say  of  him :  His  counsels  were 
wise  and  were  usually  adopted ;  but  if  conclusions  were  differ- 
ent, his  co-operation  was  invariably  cordial.  In  all  these 
years  of  my  association  with  him,  never  an  action  performed, 
nor  a  word  said,  nor  an  intimation,  look,  or  expression,  has 
come  from  him  that  has  made  upon  me  the  least  unpleasant 
impression.  Our  intercourse  from  the  beginning  unto  the  end 
has  been  characterized  by  unsullied,  undisturbed  reciprocity. 

"As  I  stand  here  to-day,  I  ask  myself — can  any  one  in- 
quire, Is  life  worth  living?  If  the  inquiry  be  made,  surely  the 
only  answer  possible,  looking  upon  that  coffin,  and  mindful  of 
the  history  of  him  whose  remains  it  contains,  is  that  life  may 
be  made  not  only  worth  the  living,  but  of  incalculable  value  to 
him  who  lives  it.  But  we  can  not  avoid  the  reflection  that 
that  which  makes  our  earthly  existence  of  value  to  us,  is  the 
fact  that  it  is  inseparably  connected  with  immortality.  The 
present  can  not  be  adequately  conceived  apart  from  the  future. 
Hence  we  think  of  the  body  here  and  of  the  spirit  yonder.  I 
seem  by  faith  to  see  the  three  who  have  gone — Dempster,  Ban- 
nister, and  Hemenway.  If  the  lives  these  have  lived,  the  his- 
tories they  have  made,  be  the  first-fruits  of  man's  being,  what 
must  the  full  harvest  be?  If  this  be  visible  in  the  early  dawn, 
what  shall  these  be  in  the  perfect  day  ?  Dr.  Hemenway  has 
gone,  and  we  would  not  call  him  back — our  hearts  say,  Go,  my 
brother;  to  thee  to  die  is  eternal  gain;  go,  and  farewell  till  I 
come  to  thee." 

Professor  Bradley  spoke  in  behalf  of  the  alumni 
as  follows : 

"  It  is  my  privilege  to  bring  here  a  brief  tribute  to  the 
teacher  we  revered  and  the  friend  we  loved.  I  know  I  cannot 
represent  all  who  have  been  blessed  by  his  instructions  or  in- 
spired by  his  friendship.  Yet  imperfect  and  hasty  as  this 
offering  to  his  memory  must  be,  it  is  at  least  fragrant  with 
precious  recollections  and  inspired  by  the  sincerest  admiration 
and  love. 

''  First  among  the  powerful  impressions  which  Dr.  Hem- 
enway made  upon  us,  his  pupils,  I  place  the  emphasis  which 
he  ever  laid,  by  precept  and  example,  upon  the  sacred  and 


110  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

precious  character  of  truth.  'Buy  the  truth  and  sell  it  not;' 
'  buy  it  at  all  cost  and  sell  it  not  at  any  price,'  were  his  injunc- 
tions. Because  God's  word  is  truth,  because  Christ  is  'the 
truth,'  they  deserve  absolute  allegiance  from  us.  Sham,  pre- 
tention, and  deception  he  abhorred.  As  in  doctrine  so  in 
character,  he  demanded,  as  chief  and  fundamental,  genuine- 
ness, sincerity,  and  truth.  To  many  of  us,  I  am  sure,  he  made 
the  truth  more  sacred  and  supreme.  From  this  characteristic 
and  unswerving  devotion  to  truth  sprang,  I  believe,  other  im- 
portant traits  of  character,  such  as  his  fidelity  to  duty,  loyalty 
to  his  convictions,  his  skill  and  justice  as  a  critic,  his  clear  and 
accurate  judgment,  and  his  marvelous  power  of  analysis. 

*'  For  some  years  delicate  health  has  combined  with  other 
causes  to  bar  him  from  any  regular  attention  to  general  soci- 
ety. His  home,  the  Institute,  and  the  church  are  the  three 
points  through  which  the  perfect  circle  of  his  life  has  been 
drawn.  But  how  minutely  faithful  he  was  to  all  his  duties  in 
these!  No  man  could  love  his  home  and  his  family  more  de- 
votedly. In  the  public  and  social  services  of  the  church  he 
was  ever  active  and  ever  welcome ;  but  for  more  than  twenty- 
five  years  the  class-room  in  the  Institute  has  been  the  center 
of  his  life.  The  professor's  chair  has  been  his  throne  of 
power.  In  my  experience  East  and  West,  as  student  and 
teacher,  I  have  known  of  no  one  who  seemed  to  me  more  ac- 
curate, more  inspiring,  or  more  impressive  as  a  teacher.  He 
did  not  emphasize  forms  and  methods,  he  did  not  relish  the 
routine  of  a  drill-master,  but  the  spirit  and  power  of  the  sub- 
jects with  which  he  dealt  were  ever  present  in  his  lecture- 
room.  He  imparted  to  us  his  life,  his  spirit,  his  experience. 
It  was  living  truth  which  he  wished  us  to  appropriate — truth 
to  be  experienced  by  the  heart,  to  become  vital  and  capable  of 
imparting  life,  so  that  the  preaching  might  be,  in  substance, 
the  preacher's  own  testimony,  a  personal  experience  of  Him 
who  is  the  truth  and  the  life. 

"  It  is  not  easy  to  be  intensely  loyal  to  one's  own  church 
and  still  broad  and  just  in  one's  appreciation  of  other  branches 
of  the  church  of  Christ.  Dr.  Hemenway's  example  helps  us 
solve  this  problem.  He  could  enjoy  the  silence  of  a  Quaker 
service;   he  warmly  admired  the  character  of  the  Cougrega- 


IN  ME  310  R I  AM.  HI 

tional  ministry;  he  preferred  the  simple  rites  with  which  the 
Presbyterians  celebrate  the  Lord's  supper ;  he  commended  for 
imitation  the  spirit  of  reverence  and  worship  so  prominent 
with  the  Episcopalians ;  he  warmly  cherished  his  own  cordial  . 
relations  with  sister  churches  here  and  elsewhere ;  and  yet  how 
intensely  loyal  he  was  to  his  own  beloved  church  !  '  No  one,' 
I  have  heard  him  say,  '  no  one  could  be  happier  or  more  per- 
fectly contented  in  his  church  relations  than  I  am.'  He  loved 
the  apostolic  spirit  and  fervent  hymns  and  testimonies  of 
Methodism,  and  was  in  perfect  accord  with  the  doctrines  of 
his  church.  He  was  catholic  in  his  sympathies  and  loyal  in 
his  personal  allegiance. 

"  He  taught  his  pupils  to  value  and  use  logical  analysis. 
Every  subject  he  took  up  was  divided  with  such  clearness  and 
discrimination  that  we  felt  he  was  not  applying  an  artificial 
system,  but,  with  wonderful  insight,  discovering  the  actual 
joints  and  cleavage  of  the  truth. 

"  In  all  Dr.  Hemenway's  instructions  he  held  before  us 
clearly  defined  and  lofty  ideals.  And  then  how  sound  was  his 
practical  judgment!  He  had  extensive  and  accurate  learning; 
but  he  had  more  than  knowledge— he  had  wisdom.  The 
power  '  to  see  things  as  they  are,  and  to  do  things  as  they 
ought  .to  be  done,'  was  his  in  a  marked  degree.  His  strong 
common  sense,  sanctified  and  consecrated  to  the  holiest  ends, 
was  a  tower  of  strength  to  all  who  sought  its  help. 

"I  think  that  no  one  part  of  Dr.  Hemenway's  great  nature 
was  less  widely  understood  than  the  depth  of  his  sympathy 
and  the  warmth  of  his  heart.  He  was  not  demonstrative,  and 
he  did  not  ask  demonstration  in  return.  He  had  a  warmer  ap- 
preciation of  his  students  than  they  generally  knew.  He  sel- 
dom praised  them  to  their  faces,  but  in  this  he  was  consistent. 
No  doubt  he  valued  appreciation;  but  it  would  have  been  im- 
possible to  deceive  him  with  flattery,  and  it  was  most  difficult 
to  praise  him.  He  would  turn  aside  the  sincerest  words  of 
admiration.  He  was  naturally  reserved;  but  let  the  slightest 
appeal  of  real  need  touch  what  seemed  a  wall  of  reserve,  and 
there  came  forth  refreshing  streams  of  wise  counsel  and  heart- 
felt sympathy.  Where  shall  we  turn  for  one  to  fill  his  place 
when  we  desire  again  such  sympathy  and  advice  as  he  has 


112  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

given  us?  Perhaps  the  freest  sign  of  tlie  inner  warmth  of  his 
nature  came  out  in  his  use  and  exposition  of  our  hymns.  He 
cultivated  in  the  hearts  of  some  of  us  a  new  love  for  these  ex- 
pressions of  Christian  feeling;  and  among  his  favorites  were 
those  which  breathed  the  most  ardent  love  for  Christ. 

"There  is  a  deep  regret  to-day,  mingled  with  our  sorrow, 
that  more  of  the  results  of  Dr.  Hemen way's  rare  powers  and 
great  attainments  have  not  been  written  and  published,  so  as 
to  be  more  wide-reaching  in  their  blessed  influence.  How 
well  we  recall  the  liours  w^ien  he  stood  before  us  pouring 
forth  a  wealth  of  thought  enshrined  in  the  choicest  forms  of 
expression,  'apples  of  gold  in  pictures  of  silver,'  or  like  show- 
ers of  pearls,  a  few  of  which  w^e  saved,  while  the  greater  part 
was  lost.  We  can  hardly  endure  the  thought  of  such  a  seem- 
ing waste.  We  treasure  our  small  savings  as  more  precious 
than  jewels.  But  our  very  regret  should  be  to  us  an  inspira- 
tion. I  think  that  Dr.  Hemenway  underestimated  the  unique 
force  of  his  own  utterances,  but  he  held  the  truths  which  he 
presented  as  immeasurably  precious.  Nothing  would  have 
more  fully  met  his  wishes,  or  proved  a  more  fitting  memorial 
to  him  we  love  and  mourn,  than  our  grasping  those  truths 
and  living  them  in  his  spirit.  So  shall  his  influence  live  as 
he  would  most  desire.  We  may  overestimate  the  influence  of 
books,  but  not  of  living  epistles.  In  and  through  our  lives 
the  teachings  of  our  translated  instructor  may  live  and  multi- 
ply till  the  end  of  time.  To-day  many  a  one  of  us  makes  the 
prayer  of  Elisha  his  own :  '  I  pray  thee  let  a  double  portion  of 
thy  spirit  be  upon  me.'  " 

Rev.  Lewis  Curts,  pastor  of  the  Evanston  Church, 
spoke  of  the  relations  of  Dr.  Hemenway  to  the  church 
and  to  the  pastor  in  Evanston  : 

"  We  could  think  of  him  as  a  man  of  broad  culture ;  but 
we  may  thank  God  that  he  was  not  too  broad  for  the  prayer- 
meeting.  The  Sunday-school  teachers,  the  superintendent, 
and  the  church  thank  GcKl  that  Dr.  Hemenway  never  grew  to 
be  above  the  Sunday-school.  He  was  one  of  the  most  cul- 
tured in  the  art  of  sacred  song,  and  yet  he  did  not  become  so 


IN  MEMORIAM.  113 

refined  in  his  ideas  of  music  that  he  was  not  willing  to  sing 
with  the  great  congregation  or  the  little  class-meeting  or  the 
little  prayer-meeting.  We  think  of  him  as  a  great  teacher; 
and  yet  every  one  who  has  been  his  pastor  will  thank  God 
that  Dr.  Hemenway  was  willing  to  sit  in  his  pew  and  be 
taught,  imperfect  as  his  teachers  might  be.  How  the  pastor 
will  miss  his  encouraging  look,  miss  his  voice  in  song!  How 
he  will  be  missed  in  the  Sunday-school,  missed  every  where ! 
How  appropriate  is  this  harp  of  flowers!  He  has  in  his 
hands  a  golden  harp  to-day,  and  sings  the  song  of  Moses 
and  the  Lamb.  This  beautiful  chair  is  a  symbol  of  his 
throne  of  power  while  here ;  but  I  hear  the  word  of  the  Mas- 
ter saying:  'To  him  that  overcometh  will  I  grant  to  sit  down 
with  me  in  my  throne.'  He  has  gone  from  us,  but  he  is  with 
the  church  of  the  first-born  and  the  spirits  of  just  men  made 
perfect.  It  will  be  but  a  little  while  before  we  shall  meet 
him." 

The  services  in  the  church  were  concluded  by 
singing  the  hymn,  '^  Rock  of  ages,  cleft  for  me.^' 
The  burial  took  place  in  Rose  Hill  Cemetery,  where 
the  services  were  conducted  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ridgaway. 

The  following  minute  was  drawn  up  by  Dr.  Ridg- 
away at  the  request  of  the  faculty  of  the  Institute : 

"Within  the  short  space  of  another  year  we,  as  a  faculty, 
mourn  the  loss  of  another  one  of  our  colleagues.  A  year  ago 
it  was  the  veteran  and  revered  Dr.  Bannister,  who  was  sud- 
denly removed  from  our  side,  at  the  end  of  a  career  longer  than 
that  which  is  usually  allotted  to  diligent  workers;  now  it  is  our 
beloved  Dr.  Hemenway,  who  falls  in  the  fullness  of  his  powers, 
and  at  an  age  when,  in  the  course  of  nature,  there  was  reason 
to  hope  for  him  many  more  years  of  active  usefulness.  Words 
are  insufficient  to  express  the  deep  sense  of  sorrrow  which  we 
feel  in  view  of  the  loss  we  have  sustained  in  this  added  be- 
reavement. The  fewness  of  our  numbers  as  a  faculty,  the 
closeness  of  our  relations,  the  identity  of  our  work,  the  sym- 
pathy of  our  aims,  and  the  oneness  of  our  faith,  bring  about  an 


114  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH.  « 

intimacy  and  kindliness  of  intercourse  which  make  us  like  one 
family,  so  that  we  grieve  for  his  death  as  for  a  near  kinsman, 
as  though,  indeed,  the  dark  shadow  had  fallen  upon  the  hearth- 
stone of  each  of  us. 

"AVe  grieve  the  more,  however,  because  of  the  immeas- 
urable loss  which  the  Institute  has  sustained.  While  gratefully 
recognizing  the  immense  and  truly  admirable  work  which  he 
accomplished,  a  work  in  which  he  lives  to-day  in  hundreds  of 
his  former  students,  and  which  is  his  most  fitting  monument, 
yet  we  had  fondly  anticipated  that  the  work  hitherto  done  was 
but  the  broad  foundation  for  a  still  nobler  superstructure  He 
had  acquired  a  ripeness  of  scholarship,  a  richness  of  experi- 
ence, a  facility  of  expression,  an  ascendency  over  mind — that 
comes  alone  from  thorough  mastery — which  must  have  made 
his  instructions,  in  the  very  difficult  and  important  department 
of  Biblical  exegesis,  of  inestimable  benefit  with  every  succeed- 
ing year.  To  speak  of  the  loss  sustained  in  his  own  particular 
department,  is  but  meagerly  to  state  the  whole  calamity  which 
has  befallen  our  cherished  school.  His  entire  being  was 
wrought  into  its  structure  and  history.  Identified  with  it  from 
youth,  he  was  with  it  in  its  small  beginnings,  had  stood  by  it 
in  all  its  vicissitudes,  and  through  all  his  vigorous  manhood  he 
served  it  with  a  zeal  that  knew  no  abatement,  a  wisdom  which 
was  never  at  fault,  and  a  conscientiousness  that  allowed  neither 
slackness  nor  diversion.  He  could  not  for  a  moment  separate 
himself  from  Garrett;  and,  consequently,  all  that  he  was — in 
the  spiritual  and  moral  excellence  of  his  character  as  a  man 
and  Christian,  the  force  and  beauty  of  his  eloquence  as  a 
preacher  of  the  gospel,  the  exactness,  depth,  and  variety  of  his 
attainments,  in  his  marvelous  power  of  Biblical  exposition, 
both  as  writer  and  teacher,  in  his  scrupulous  fidelity  to  all  the 
public  and  private  duties  of  life— he  belonged  to  the  Institute, 
and  helped  mightily  to  augment  its  fair  fame  and  usefulness. 
His  life  is  another  striking  illustration  of  the  law  that  con- 
centration is  the  grand  element  of  strength,  and  that  he  lives 
the  most  who  most  truly  loves  God  and  serves  his  fellow- 
creatures. 

"  In  parting  with  the  bodily  presence  of  this  our  honored 
co-laborer  in  the  sacred  employment  to  which  the  church  had 


IN  MEMORIAM.  115 

called  him  and  us,  we  cheerfully  bear  this  tribute  to  his  mem- 
ory to  be  recorded  on  our  minutes.  We  would  also  assure 
Mrs.  Hemenway,  the  sons,  and  all  surviving  kindred,  of  our 
heart-felt  sympathy  in  their  affliction,  and  of  our  sincere 
prayers  that  the  God  whom  he  adored,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Spirit,  may  be  their  unfailing  strength." 

The  news  of  Dr.  Hemen way's  death  caused  wide- 
spread surprise  and  sorrow.  Letters  and  resolutions 
of  sympathy  sent  to  the  family  showed  the  extent  of 
this  public  bereavement.  The  Vermont  conference, 
his  old  home  conference,  received  the  intelligence 
while  in  session,  and  hastened  to  express  its  sorrow 
and  sympathy  and  high  appreciation  of  his  character.* 
An  eye-witness  wrote:  "Such  a  thrill  as  went  through 
the  Vermont  conference,  when  the  telegram  announc- 
ing Dr.  Hemenway's  death  was  read,  I  never  wit- 
nessed before."  (Rev.  Ezra  Walker.)  The  trustees 
of  the  Institute  resolved  "that  the  school,  where  he 
has  so  long  and  faithfully  labored,  and  to  whose  in- 
terests he  was  so  thoroughly  devoted,  has  sustained 
an  irreparable  loss,  and  that  the  cause  of  sacred  learn- 
ing has  been  deprived  of  one  of  its  brightest  orna- 
ments. By  his  thorough  scholarship,  marvelous  ana- 
lytical and  critical  methods,  hundreds  of  young  men, 
preparing  for  the  ministry,  have  gained  a  clearer  in- 
sight into  the  divine  word.  By  the  singular  noble- 
ness of  his  character,  he  has  illustrated  the  power 
and  blessedness  of  divine  grace."  f  The  Chicago 
Preachers'  Meeting  t    and  the  Alumni  Association  of 


*The  committee  consisted  of  Rev.  Drs.  J.  C.  W.  Coxe  and  A.  L. 
Cooper. 

t  Signed  by  Mr.  Orrington  Lunt,  Secretary. 

t  Their  committee  was:  Revs.  A.  W.  Patton,  D.  D.,  N.  H.  Axlell, 
D.  D.,  and  W.  H.  Holmes. 


116  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

the  Institute*  passed  similar  resolutions.  The  Con- 
gregational church  at  Glencoe,  and  the  South  Evans- 
ton  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  expressed  in  strong 
terms  their  love  and  admiration  for  their  former 
pastor. 

The  press  of  Evanston  and  Chicago,  and  the  Meth- 
odist papers  throughout  the  church,  gave  suitable  recog- 
nition to  the  public  and  connectional  interest  in  Dr. 
Hemenway^s  life  and  death.  Yet  even  the  notices  in 
the  Methodist  Advocates  showed  that  his  modest  and 
retiring  nature  had  prevented  an  adequate  apprecia- 
tion of  his  unique  character.  The  following  is  con- 
densed from  an  article  in  the  3Iichigan  Christian  Ad- 
vocate, by  the  Rev.  Charles  M.  Stuart: 

"It  is  almost  impossible  for  one  with  the  freshness  of  the 
loss  upon  him  to  speak  calmly  or  judicially  of  his  qualities  as 
a  man  and  teacher.  So  striking  were  they  that,  even  under 
circumstances  less  trying  to  the  judgment,  it  would  be  difficult 
to  set  them  forth  adequately  without  seeming,  to  those  not  ac- 
quainted with  him,  extravagantly  eulogistic.  No  man,  how- 
ever, could  better  afford  to  dispense  with  obituary  honors. 
His  undying  eulogy  will  be  found  in  the  hearts  of  a  gener- 
ation of  students  into  whom  he  breathed  the  love  of  virtue 
and  the  enthusiasm  of  a  true  science. 

"As  a  teacher,  perhaps  nothing  was  more  characteristic 
than  his  precision.  In  every  detail  of  the  class-room  he  was 
exact,  methodical.  Upon  the  stroke  of  the  hour  he  was  at  his 
desk,  and  his  mild  look  of  rebuke  to  late  comers  was  in  itself 
a  picturesque  lecture  on  punctuality.  Prodigal  enough  of  his 
own  time,  for  the  sake  of  his  students  he  never  traded  a  mo- 
ment upon  theirs.  This  habit  was  carried,  with  excellent 
effect,  into  his  use  of  language.  His  lectures  on  Biblical  Intro- 
duction, could  they  be  reproduced  as  he  delivered  them,  would 
be  models  of  precision  and  lucidity  of  statement.     He  recog- 

*Revs.  T.  B.  Hilton  and  A.  W,  Patten,  D.  D.,  committee. 


IN  MEMORIAM.  117 

nized  that  no  two  words  were  exactly  synonymous,  and  his 
selection  seemed  to  us  Uttle  less  than  the  choice  of  a  conscience 
profoundly  impressed  with  the  moral  quality  of  speech.  So, 
too,  in  thought.  In  him  there  was  no  confusion  of  ideas.  He 
knew  what  he  knew,  and  the  grounds  of  his  knowledge ;  and 
he  was  quick  to  discern  the  student's  uncertainty  ahout  the 
things  he  thought  he  knew.  His  precision  in  quoting  author- 
ities was  also  notable.  He  fully  shared  Sumner's  high  scorn 
of  the  trick  of  quoting  a  man's  words  to  the  distortion  of 
his  idea. 

"  As  a  teacher,  Professor  Hemenway  was  not  only  precise, 
but  positive  and  conservative.  One  element  of  his  strength 
was  the  tenacity  with  which  he  held^to  old  and  tested  truths. 
Novelty  was  not  with  him  a  reason  for  change  of  opinion. 
So-called  '  new  '  truths  were  canvassed  and  weighed.  If  their 
claims  were  valid  he  gave  adherence,  not  because  they  were 
new,  but  because  they  were  true.  Eager  for  all  light  wliich 
modern  research  might  throw  upon  Biblical  questions,  he  was 
conservative  of  the  old  standards,  and  duly  impressed  his 
pupils  with  the  value,  in  times  of  agitation  and  controversy, 
of  making  haste  slowly  in  forming  conclusions  diflferent  from 
the  old  and  well-established.  To  an  information  which  to  us 
students  seemed  encyclopedic,  he  added  the  teacher's  crown- 
ing quality:  the  ability  to  inspire  enthusiasm  for  study.  A 
poor  recitation  in  his  class  was  the  exception,  and  anything 
like  indifference  to  the  subject  under  consideration  was  im- 
possible. 

"Highly  valued  as  Professor  Hemenway  was  as  a  teacher, 
he  was  not  less  esteemed  as  a  man.  Only  by  tiis  intimates 
could  the  real  beauty  of  his  character  be  appreciated.  He  was 
prevented,  by  ill-health  and  family  duties,  from  being  dis- 
tinguished in  the  social  circle,  which  he  would  have  adorned 
by  his  disposition  and  attainments.  His  interest  in  the  per- 
sonal concern  of  the  students  was  unremitting  and  almost 
womanly  in  its  tenderness.  Many  a  young  man  carries  to  his 
work  to-day  the  inspiring  remembrance  of  this  good  man's 
cheerful  and  helpful  counsel  and  advice.  His  virtues  were  of 
the  rugged  order.  The  wells  of  affection  were  deep  in  him. 
His  emotional  nature  was  rich  and  profound.     His  lack,  if 


118  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

lack  it  be  considered,  was  in  the  display  of  his  feelings.  He 
was  self-contained  to  a  fault. 

"Once  only  did  I  hear  him  preach.  It  was  during  a  re- 
vival in  First  church,  Evanston.  The  exhortation  was  most 
touching.  He  spoke  extemporaneously.  His  sentences  were 
short,  direct,  simple ;  his  elocution  at  first  nervous  and  some- 
what over-accentuated  ;  his  gestures  few  but  emphatic.  When 
fairly  launched  on  his  subject  the  periods  lengthened,  the 
voice  became  charged  with  emotion,  and  the  climax  reached 
in  thrilling  impressiveness. 

"And  now  he  is  gone!  But  he  is  not  dead  to  us  who 
knew  him  as  man  and  teacher.  He  gave  us  his  own  best 
nature,  and  by  so  much  made  us  better.  The  grave  receives 
his  mortal  body,  but  the  immortal  self  lives 

•Embalmed  in  memory,  with  things  that  are  holy, 
By  the  Spirit  that  is  undying.' " 

The  number  of  letters  received  from  the  alumni 
and  other  friends  by  the  family  and  the  Committee  of 
Publication  is  very  large,  and  there  is  a  remarkable 
unanimity  in  the  expression  made.  A  few  might 
well  stand  as  types  for  all.  They  have  deepened  and 
confirmed  the  impression  made  by  the  man  himself. 
Since  all  can  not  be  quoted  without  filling  the  vol- 
ume, we  must  content  ourselves  with  typical  extracts 
from  a  limited  number.  I  know  he  sometimes  felt 
that  the  students  misunderstood  him,  and  that  the 
relation  of  a  teacher  seemed  to  him  less  cordial  than 
that  of  a  pastor.  We  may  hope  that  he  knows  now 
the  gratitude  and  affection  which  the  following  ex- 
tracts express.  A  missionary  in  China  writes :  "  I 
owe  to  him  a  lasting  debt  of  gratitude  for  the  exact- 
ness and  thoroughness  of  his  instructions.  The  ex- 
ample of  his  devoted  and  sensible  Christian  life  is  a 
constant  help  to  one  who  is  called  upon  to  deal  with 


IN  MEMORIAM.  119 

all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men,  especially  in  a  heathen 
land/^^  From  India  comes  this  testimony:  "The 
class-meetings  in  Heck  Hall  were  always  rich  sea- 
sons to  my  soul  because  he  led  thera."^  From  other 
letters  we  cull  the  following  brief  tributes :  "  His  ex- 
position of  hymns,  the  sweetness  of  his  singing,  and 
the  cheerfidness  of  his  religious  experience  made  the 
class-meetings  of  the  Institute  most  enjoyable."^ 
"  His  sermons  were  models  of  pith  and  purity,  and 
would  invariably  draw  an  exceptional  audience."^ 
"  His  words,  his  singing,  and  every  movement  have 
been  a  precious  inspiration  to  me  many  times  since  I 
left  Evanston."^  "I  learned  to  love  him  ardently, 
and  his  instruction  and  personality  produced  a  greater 
impression  upon  me  than  those  of  any  other  man,  except 
my  father/^ ^  "I  learned  to  prize  his  teachings  so 
highly  that  I  tried  to  preserve  in  writing  almost  every- 
thing which  I  heard  from  his  lips."^  "  I  have  ever  re- 
membered the  service  he  rendered  me  by  wise  coun- 
sel at  a  critical  time  with  sincere  gratitude.'^  ^  "  The 
fragrance  of  his  holy  life  has  gone  out  into  all  the 
church/'^  "I  shall  ever  feel  thankful  to  God  for 
having  known  him  as  an  instructor  and  friend/' ^^ 
"  His  clear  discernment  of  truth  and  precise  state- 
ment of  it,  his  warm  and  genuine  sympathy,  and 
his  personal  interest  in  me,  made  him  the  one  man 
of  all  living  to  whom  I  have  looked  for  instruc- 
tion, counsel,  and  help  in  my  life-work. ''"  "He  was 
one  of  the  great  standard-bearers  of  the  church.     No 


1  Rev.  M.  C.  Wilcox.  2R,ev.  J.  C.  Lawson.  s Rev.  E.  G.  W.  Hall. 
*Prof.  John  Poucher,  D.  D.  SRev.  Wm.  Dawe.  «  Rev.  E  M.  Glas- 
gow.  7  Prof.  E.  M.  Holmes,  s  Rev.  A.  L.  Cooper,  D.  D.  sRev.O.L. 
Fisher.        lORev.  J.  S,  Chad  wick,  D.  D.       "  Rev.  A.  E.  Griffith. 


120  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

death  outside  of  my  family  could  have  come  nearer  to 
me.^'  12  a  ]yjy  beloved  teacher,  my  true  and  gracious 
friend,  my  trusted  counselor,  my  inspiring  exem- 
plar." ^^  *' His  firm,  calm  simplicity  of  manner  and 
conversation,  and  his  exalted  Christian  character, 
made  a  deep  impression  on  my  mind."  ^^  ^'  The  in- 
fluence ot  a  few  words  he  spoke  to  me  one  day,  years 
ago,  in  the  library  of  the  Institute,  has  been  the 
source  of  almost  measureless  support  and  encourage- 
ment during  trials  since.  Some  day  I  hope  to  tell 
him  how  much  he  did  lor  me."^^ 

The  expressions  of  other  friends  were  not  less 
emphatic.  Names  can  not  well  be  given  here,  and 
only  a  few  sentences  may  be  quoted.  A  gentleman 
in  whose  home  he  was  entertained  during  a  General 
Conference  wrote :  ^^  His  presence  with  us  was  a  ben- 
ediction." A  parishioner  at  Montpelier,  Vt. :  '^  How 
much  my  life  has  been  enriched  by  his  ministry  here, 
only  the  eternal  years  can  measure."  A  minister  who 
was  never  his  pupil  wrote:  "I,  among  thousands,  am 
also  a  debtor  to  Dr.  Hemenway,  whose  influence  I 
felt  long  before  I  met  him." 

From  other  letters  are  culled  the  following : 
"Whenever  he  spoke,  his  words  came  to  me  like  a 
benediction."  "To  Dr.  Hemenway  I  owe  more  for 
spiritual  progress  and  insight  than  to  any  other  one 
person."  But  the  veil  can  not  be  drawn  from  the  per- 
sonal sorrow  and  love  which  such  a  death  discloses  to 
those  most  deeply  bereaved.  A  neighbor  and  friend 
for  thirty  years  said:  "O,  if  you  could  only  tell  how 

"Prof.  E.  L.  Parks,  D.  D.        i«Rev.  C.  H,  Morgan,  Ph.  D.       "Rev. 
M.  M.  McCreigbt.       >6Rev.  J.  W.  Richards. 


IN  MEMORIAM.  121 

much  we  loved  him!''  But  when  we  attempt  to  ex- 
press the  deep  things  of  life,  the  vahie  of  pure  and 
unselfish  character,  the  power  of  noble  and  consistent 
Christian  living,  the  delight  one  feels  in  the  fit  em- 
bodiment in  words  of  true  and  beautiful  thought,  the 
affection  which  a  great  and  good  friend  inspires,  then 
we  realize  that  we  are  attempting  the  impossible. 

To  the  alumni  of  the  Institute,  whose  admiration 
for  Dr.  Hemenway  has  occasioned  this  volume,  no 
words  spoken  here  will  seem  extravagant.  They  are 
much  more  likely  to  be  regarded  inadequate.  They 
might  appear  to  other  readers  the  unstinted  praises  ot 
admiring  pupils,  unless  accompanied  by  the  testi- 
mony of  those  not  under  such  obligations,  and  with  a 
broader  knowledge  of  men  and  things.  Such  wit- 
ness we  have  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  Arthur  Edwards, 
editor  of  the  No rthic ester n  Christian  Advocate;  the 
Rev.  Dr.  J.  M.  Buckley,  editor  of  the  Christian  Ad- 
vocate; Miss  Jane  M.  Bancroft,  Ph.  D.,  formerly 
Dean  of  the  AVoman's  College,  in  Evanston  ;  Miss 
Frances  E.  Willard;  the  Rev.  Dr.  Isaac  Crook,  of 
Louisville,  Ky. ;  and  Mr.  Frank  P.  Crandon,  of 
Evanston.  Each  contribution  tells  its  own  interest- 
ing and  valuable  story. 

DR.  EDWARDS. 
One's  regard  for  a  man  like  Dr.  Hemenway  is  very  sure 
to  be  of  the  most  genuine  quality.  Certain  men  attract  irre- 
sistibly ;  and  he  who  is  attracted,  sometimes  finds  at  last  that 
he  has  been  a  victim  of  his  own  self-interest.  Other  men  seem 
to  attract  because  they  are  unselfish,  and  you  may  be  sure  that 
your  regard  for  them  is  solely  a  tribute  to  their  genuine  worth. 
Dr.  Hemenway  won  his  friends  slowly,  but  they  were  quite 
sure  to  remain  friendly  to  the  end.     I  knew  him  at  arms'- 

9 


122  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

length  for  some  A^ears,  but  our  common  service  on  the  com- 
mittee to  prepare  the  Hymnal,  now  in  use  by  the  church, 
brought  us  closely  together.  Of  course  I  found  him  true  in 
all  our  formal  relations,  but  I  felt  drawn  to  him  by  reason  of 
the  deeper  man  which  lay  concealed  at  first  beneath  the  surface 
of  the  outer  personality.  To  most  people  he  seemed  reticent; 
but  he  was,  in  fact,  one  of  the  most  sociable  and  ready  talkers 
I  have  ever  known.  Once  you  broke  the  outer  crust,  you 
were  sure  to  discover  a  thorough  companion,  if  indeed  you 
were  entitled  to  the  discovery  and  the  confidence  it  implied. 
Our  long  journeys  to  the  committee's  meetings,  and  protracted 
service  together,  revealed  to  me,  and  to  all  the  committee, 
one  of  the  rarest  men  in  our  own  or  any  other  church.  The 
Doctor  was  grave  in  demeanor;  but  in  the  restful  moments  we 
gave  ourselves  in  the  intervals  of  close  work,  he  joined  in  the 
fun  wdth  a  zest  which  is  one  of  the  best  proofs  of  the  genuine 
dignity  in  a  confident,  self-poised,  and  candid  man.  True 
humor  often  consists  in  the  intentional  violation  of  logical  re- 
lations ;  and  the  genuine  humorist,  by  the  very  excellence  of 
his  fun,  manifests  the  firm  texture  of  his  mind.  In  the  mo- 
ments of  which  I  speak,  the  heart  and  brain  of  Dr.  Hemenway 
were  often  revealed  at  their  best,  and  I  am  sure  that  those  of 
the  committee  who  survive  enjoy  the  memories  of  our  recrea- 
tion somewhat  as  they  do  those  of  our  soberer  work.  Some 
men  "go  to  pieces"  in  your  estimation  because  of  what  is  re- 
vealed when  humorous  intercourse  has  put  them  ofi"  their 
guard.  Look  into  Dr.  Hemen way's  heart  or  head,  however, 
through  whatever  window,  you  were  sure  to  discover  nothing 
but  the  strong,  the  good,  and  the  pure.  He  was  instinctively 
a  devout  man.  Sometimes,  to  try  a  hymn,  or  to  get  at  the 
"understanding"  with  which  it  should  be  sung,  we  often  gave 
it  voice  in  two  or  three  or  more  verses.  I  can  now  see  him, 
with  head  thrown  back,  perhaps  with  closed  eyes,  as  he  en- 
tered into  the  spiritual  interpretation  of  the  lines  we  were  pre- 
paring for  the  use  of  the  church.  His  heart  would  take  fire, 
and  his  strong  voice  was  our  leading  soprano  as  we  rolled  forth 
the  noble  words  of  the  poets  of  Methodism.  Dr.  Hemenway 
worked  with  a  conscience.  No  labor  was  too  great  or  pro- 
tracted when  needed  to  place  the  text  of  a  disputed  line  in 


IN  MEMORIAM.  123 

proper  form.  He  had  a  genius  for  painstaking  investigation, 
and,  like  all  the  rest  of  the  world's  busy  men,  he  was  called 
upon  to  do  the  world's  extra  work.  He  did  not  appear  at  his 
best  when  on  parade,  but  in  the  uneventful  corners  of  vital 
efficiency  he  made  the  success  of  the  church's  armies  possible. 
When  God  promoted  him  to  his  reward,  the  world  lost  a  really 
great  man.  I  held  him  in  highest  estimate  and  loving  regard. 
I  would  have  freely  trusted  him  in  the  highest  place  within 
the  gift  of  the  church.  He  was  a  pastor,  and  has  aided  to 
shape  hundreds  of  pastors,  and  he  was  equal  to  the  office  and 
work  of  our  pastors  of  pastors.  Dr.  Hemenway  was  pure  in  heart, 
simple-minded,  devout,  ambitious  only  in  the  highest  and  best 
sense,  and  he  had  that  highest  type  of  genuine  catholicity 
which  prefers  his  own  church  for  the  sake  of  all  the  churches. 
I  hallow  his  memory,  for,  in  all  best  respects,  it  is  as  ointment 
poured  forth. 

DR.    BUCKLKY. 

The  request  to  write  a  few  words  concerning  the  late  Pro- 
fessor F.  D.  Hemenway,  preferred  to  me  by  the  compilers  of 
this  memorial,  has  respect  doubtless  to  that  intimate  relation 
subsisting  between  us  in  the  work  of  revising  the  Methodist 
Hymn-book;  for,  prior  to  that  time,  it  had  not  been  my  for- 
tune to  have  more  than  a  passing  acquaintance  with  him.  I 
consider  it  an  abundant  reward  for  the  time  and  labor  ex- 
pended upon  that  work,  that  it  brought  me  into  contact  with 
so  many  earnest  and  devoted  representatives  of  different  sec- 
tions and  spheres  ot  activity  in  the  church. 

It  soon  became  apparent  that  the  design  of  the  bishops  to 
make  the  committee  of  fifteen  truly  representative,  had  been 
accomplished.  The  place  filled  by  Professor  Hemenway  could 
not  have  been  taken  by  any  other.  His  death,  or  inability  to 
serve,  would  have  left  the  revisers  without  the  counsel  of  a 
critic  than  whom  none  was  more  discriminating,  painstaking, 
conscientious,  or  kindly. 

During  the  first  few  weeks  after  the  organization,  to  a 
stranger  he  might  have  seemed  somewhat  finical;  but  this  re- 
sulted from  a  transient  reserve,  which  exhibited  only  his  in- 
tense devotion  to  truth,  even  in  details,  without  the  bmhomie 


124  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

which  on  further  acquaintance  lit  up  his  communications,  as 
rays  of  sunlight  bring  out  the  colors  in  a  somber  landscape, 
and  change  its  whole  aspect. 

Many  students  exhaust  their  energy  in  sedentary  habits 
and  laborious  application  to  monotonous  work.  Chronically 
languid,  they  are  not  able  to  display  their  knowledge  attract- 
ively, or  to  hold  attention  while  they  present  carefully  formed 
opinions.  It  was  not  so  with  Professor  Hemenway.  He  spoke 
upon  recondite  points  with  the  vivacity  of  earnest  conversa- 
tion; received  contradiction  meekly,  defending  his  positions 
strongly ;  and  acknowledging  an  error,  if  found  in  one — which 
was  rarely  the  case — with  thanks. 

Understanding  music,  he  considered  every  hymn,  not  only 
with  respect  to  its  sentiment,  but  its  adaptation  to  Christian 
song  in  the  family,  the  Sabbath-school,  the  prayer  meeting, 
and  the  worship  of  the  great  congregation.  Yet  he  often  re- 
marked that  the  Hymnal  served  an  important  purpose  as  a 
volume  of  devotional  reading;  and  that  it  should  not  be  for- 
gotten that  many  an  invalid  would  read  these  compositions, 
and  they  would  be  the  delight  of  the  aged  and  infirm,  and 
the  instruction  and  entertainment  of  many  who  are  not  able 
to  sing. 

His  taste  was  exquisite.  We  learned  to  look  for  the  exhi- 
bition of  the  hidden  beauties  of  a  composition,  if  there  were 
any,  and  for  a  prompt  and  convincing  exposure  of  essential 
defects.  Nor  did  he  lose  sight  of  the  substance  of  truth.  He 
was  not  one  of  those  who  would  sacrifice  for  a  beautiful  figure 
a  strong  statement.  If  possible,  he  would  unite  them ;  but  I 
recall  several  occasions  when  he  said :  "  The  hymn  is  met- 
rically and  musically  almost*  perfect ;  but  it  is  too  weak — it  con- 
tains nothing  nourishing."  Professor  Hemenway  distin- 
guished between  sentimentality  and  spirituality,  and  desired 
that,  without  the  loss  of  true  sentiment,  ever  helpful  to  spir- 
ituality, every  hymn  sung  by  the  church  might  be  a  proper 
vehicle  for  devout  aspiration,  thankfulness,  petition,  or  peni- 
tential confession. 

To  speak  of  his  reverent  spirit  will  seem  to  those  who 
knew  him  well  superfluous;  but  as  the  purpose  of  these  words 
is  not  merely  to  remind  his  friends  of  him,   but  to  enable 


IN  MEMORIAM.  125 

others  to  know  why  they  loved  him,  I  will  definitely  state 
that  in  two  years  and  a  half  close  intercourse  with  him,  by 
correspondence  and  in  conversation,  in  hours  of  work  and 
hours  of  ease,  I  never  heard  from  him'  a  word  which  would 
have  been  incompatible  with  an  immediate  transition  to  the 
most  solemn  act  of  devotion.  Yet  there  was  nothing  somber; 
the  "light  of  smiles"  often  played  upon  his  features.  His 
tenderness  was  not  weakness,  his  strength  not  coarseness,  his 
wit  not  lightness,  nor  his  mirth  levity. 

Upon  questions  of  expediency  he  was  not  pertinacious ; 
upon  those  of  principle  he  was  immovable,  yet  more  solicit- 
ous to  be  convinced  of  truth  than  to  prevail  in  controversy. 
In  the  report  submitted  to  the  bishops  and  published  to  the 
church,  the  discussion  of  new  hymns  was  committed  to  Dr. 
Hemenway,  and  in  its  preparation  his  qualities  as  a  thinker 
and  writer  appear  at  their  best. 

On  an  important  sub-committee  he  was  associated  with 
Professor  Harrington  and  the  writer,  who  alone  survives,  and 
writes  these  words  with  feelings  in  which  a  sense  of  the  un- 
certainty of  life  blends  with  an  encouraging  conviction  of  the 
permanence  of  work  done  for  Christ,  and  the  value  of  a  hope 
that  personality  is  not  destroyed  when  this  "mortal  shall 
have  put  on  immortality." 

MISS    BANCROFT. 

In  the  various  relations  of  daily  living.  Dr.  Hemenway 
was  honored  and  loved  by  all.  A  sincere  and  faithful  friend, 
a  professor  of  careful  and  exact  scholarship,  a  Christian  of  un- 
obtrusive yet  fervent  piety,  the  record  that  he  left  is  plain  and 
open — it  can  be  read  by  all. 

Yet  there  is  no  personality  that  completely  reveals  itsel 
to  another;  "as  Thebes  of  old,  so  has  the  soul  her  hundred 
gates;"  and  when  one  swings  ajar,  and  we  have  glimpses 
within,  yet  they  are  but  glimpses,  and  we  can  only  wonder 
and  conjecture  as  to  what  we  do  not  see.  Yet  by  combining  the 
glances  of  insight  of  many  friends  of  varying  nature,  we  shall 
obtain  a  more  complete  conception  of  a  rarely  lovable  person- 
ality— a  personality  that  veiled  itself  in  a  degree  by  reticent 
dignity  and  quiet  composure. 


126  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 

I  had  the  privilege  of  counting  Dr.  Hemenway  among  my 
friends  for  a  number  of  years ;  and  yet  I  ever  remember  him 
by  preference  on  the  few  occasions  when  I  reached  below  the 
surface,  and  obtained  a  slight  knowledge  of  the  thoughts  he 
was  thinking,  or  the  motives  which  impelled  him. 

One  day  we  were  returning  from  church  together,  and 
were  talking  of  the  sermon,  with  its  lesson  of  trust  in  Divine 
Providence — a  trust  that  should  stand  firm,  even  if  the  out- 
ward conditions  of  life  failed  to  bring  home  the  conviction  of 
a  loving  Father's  care. 

"  It  is  the  eternal  question,"  I  said,  "  coming  anew  to  every 
generation,  fresh  to  every  human  soul,  as  though  long  centu- 
ries of  tired,  troubled  men  had  not  struggled  to  attain  the  cer- 
tain assurance — 'God  is  my  Father;  he  has  personal,  loving 
care  for  me.' " 

**  Yes,"  he  answered ;  "  and  what  a  blessed  truth  it  is  that 
so  many  seeking  souls  have  found  the  answer !  It  was  meant 
to  come  home  to  every  one;  each  man  must  face  it  for  himself. 
God  presents  us  difficulties  in  life  so  as  to  educate  us  in  trust. 
It  is  a  ceaselessly  recurring  question,  because  it  is  the  vital  one 
of  life." 

"  Yes,  there  is  witness  of  this  in  all  countries  and  at  all 
times,"  I  responded,  and  then  quoted  Whittier's  poem  on  the 
German  mystic,  Tauler,  of  mediaeval  times: 

"  Taaler,  the  preacher,  walked  one  autumn  day, 
Without  the  walls  of  Strasburg,  by  the  Rhine, 
Pondering  the  solemn  miracle  of  life; 
And  as  he  walked,  he  prayed  even  the  same 
Old  prayer,  with  which  for  half  a  score  of  years- 
Morning,  noon,  and  evening— lip  and  heart 
Had  groaned  :  'Have  pity  upon  me.  Lord  ; 
Thou  seest,  while  teaching  others,  I  am  blind.'  " 

"O,  that  is  one  of  mj?^  poems,"  he  said.  And  taking  up 
the  lines  where  I  left  them,  he  quoted  stanza  after  stanza,  show- 
ing a  wonderful  exactness  of  verbal  memory.  "This  is  the 
heart  of  the  poem,"  and  he  repeated  in  a  slow  and  meas- 
ured way : 

"  What  hell  may  be,  I  know  not ;  this  I  know— 
I  can  not  lose  the  presence  of  the  Lord, 


IN  MEMORIAM.  127 

One  arm,  Humility,  takes  liold  upon 

His  dear  Humanity  ;  tiie  otlier,  Love, 

Clasps  his  Divinity.    So  where  I  go, 

Jle  goes;  and  better  fire- walled  hell  with  him 

Thau  golden-gated  paradise  Avithout." 

"  And  this,  a  most  beautiful  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter: 

'  So  darkness  in  the  pathway  of  man's  life 
Is  but  the  shadow  of  God's  providence. 
By  the  great  Sun  of  Wisdom  cast  thereon  ; 
And  what  is  dai'k  below  is  light  in  heaven.' "' 

As  he  spoke  I  felt  with  subtle  sympathy,  "That  poem 
has  had  its  message  to  you  as  it  has  to  me— a  comforting 
one — giving  the  assurance  that  to  his  own,  God  will  reveal 
himself." 

Then  there  is  another  glimpse  I  cherish  well  in  memory. 
I  had  asked  Dr.  Hemenway  to  come  to  our  Wednesday  even- 
ing service  at  the  Woman's  College,  to  give  us  some  of  the 
treasures  of  his  rare  knowledge  of  the  hymns  of  the  church. 
He  accepted  the  invitation,  and  when  he  came,  the  entire  even- 
ing was  devoted  to  a  song-service,  made  up  of  the  hymns  that 
had  been  written  by  women  authors.  Each  hymn  had  its  own 
explanation  as  to  how,  when,  and  where  written  ;  then  followed 
gentle  words  of  encouragement  to  the  young  college  girls,  in- 
citing them  to  service  for  Christ's  church,  and,  if  possible,  also 
to  write  words  of  praise  and  thanksgiving  to  be  treasured  in 
sacred  song.  They  w^ere  only  a  few  words,  but  listened  to  with 
closest  attention. 

Afterward,  as  I  considered  the  thoughtful  tact  in  the 
choice  of  the  hymns,  and  the  wise,  stimulating  words  of  en- 
couragement that  had  been  said,  I  obtained  another  glimpse 
into  a  nature  quick  to  see  and  ready  to  respond  to  every  oppor- 
tunity for  working  good. 

These  facts  may  seem  but  slight  testimonials  when  com- 
pared with  the  far  wider  tributes  that  many  will  give— trib- 
utes of  words  and  deeds  that  were  known  and  recognized  as 
sources  of  power  in  a  wide  range  of  influence — but  such  as  I 
have  I  give ;  fragrant,  blessed  memories,  that  will  be  treasured 
by  me,  and  shared  by  others,  while  life  lasts. 


128  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


MISS  WILLARD. 

The  life  of  Dr.  Hemenway  was  set  to  music.  His  dome- 
like head,  trim  figure,  quick,  measured  step,  and  voice  remark- 
able for  rhythm,  were  the  insignia  of  a  spirit  full  of  cadences 
and  melody.  I  used  to  think  that  in  him  a  tone-master  was 
spoiled  to  make  a  scholar.  Had  his  physical  vigor  equaled  his 
psychic  sensibility,  he  would  have  wrought  out  in  a  long  life 
something  in  music  beyond  the  realm  of  Methodism.  As  it  is, 
he  takes  rank,  for  our  time,  as  the  first  hymnologist  of  the 
church,  concerning  which  he  often  said  it  was  "beloved  by 
him  beyond  his  chief  joy."  When  he  raised  the  tune  for  us  in 
love-feast,  prayer-  or  class-meeting — and  I  heard  him  do 
so  hundreds  of  times — we  all  felt  that  the  act  was  one  of 
worship. 

Dr.  Hemenway  was  of  a  rarely  reticent  nature,  and  per- 
sons of  frank  and  enthusiastic  make-up  did  not  always  feel 
sure  that  he  approved  of  them ;  but  it  was  only  the  surface 
recoil  of  unlikd*  temperaments.  Take  my  own  case :  Our 
homes  were  but  a  block  or  two  apart  for  twenty  years,  yet,  be- 
yond the  kindly  greeting  of  passers-by,  we  almost  never  met 
except  in  class-meeting,  where  for  some  time  he  was  my  leader, 
and  beloved  as  almost  no  other  has  been  since  I  became  a 
daughter  of  the  church.  In  my  journals  of  those  days,  as  in 
my  sister  Mary's,  allusions  to  him  are  frequent,  and  always  in 
appreciative  terms.  Take  the  following  from  mine  by  way  of 
illustration: 

Autumn  of  1869:  Evening.  Have  just  returned  from  class- 
meeting,  where  I  went  with  Oliver  as  in  the  pleasant  days  of 
last  spring.  Professor  Hemenway  was  as  kind  and  candid  as 
ever.  The  room  was  cozy,  the  lamp  and  table  and  pictures 
were  just  as  usual.  But  the  one  with  whom  I  used  to  go  to 
class-meeting  was  far  away.  My  brother  prayed  very  sweetly 
and  earnestly.  Professor  Hemenway  uttered  one  sentence 
that  particularh'  attracted  my  attention.  He  said:  "  We  have 
strength  only  because  we  are  joined  to  him  who  is  strong." 

In  appearance  and  conduct,  in  character  and  achievement, 
this  unique  and  noble  man  gave  to  all  who  knew  him  a  sense 
of  symmetry  hardly  paralleled  in  my  acquaintance.     He  was 


IN  MEBIORIAM.  129 

one  whose  presence  warmed  the  spirit.  The  ray  was  not  of 
sunshine,  but  of  purest  starlight,  and  I  always  felt  it  was  a 
beam  so  true  and  kindly  that  it  was  good  to  follow,  even  as 
that  at  Bethlehem,  which  led  always  straight  to  Christ. 

He  was  a  man  to  be  confided  in.  When  three  of  my  best 
beloved — father,  sister,  and  brother — passed  away.  Dr.  Hem- 
enway's  presence,  his  voice,  his  participation  in  the  last  serv- 
ices, brought  solace  to  the  hearts  that  sorrowed,  though  we 
saw^  him  only  in  the  pulpit  and  at  the  grave.  Tuneful  and 
sweet,  that  remarkable  voice  has  memorably  fallen  on  my  ear 
in  tender  cadences  as  Dr.  Hemenway  walked  up  the  church 
aisle,  leading  the  funeral  procession,  and  uttering  the  words,  "  I 
am  the  resurrection  and  the  life ;  he  that  believeth  in  me, 
though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live."  There  was  the  stead- 
iness of    absolute  conviction  in  those  tender  tones. 

He  was  a  man  to  trust — a  man  to  seek  in  time  of  trouble. 
He  was  a  royal  counselor  and  a  choice  critic.  When  I  started 
out  to  speak  without  manuscript  or  notes,  I  asked  him  to  let 
me  rehearse  before  him,  and,  at  his  suggestion,  we  went  up 
to  University  Hall,  where,  in  Professor  Cumnock's  recitation- 
room  (in  which  that  generous  friend  and  brother  had  trained 
me  many  a  time).  Dr.  Hemenway  seated  himself,  paper  and 
pencil  in  hand,  carefully  noting  his  points  of  commendation 
and  of  criticism  for  an  hour  or  more.  Meanwhile  I  pictured 
him  to  myself  as  a  large  audience,  and  tried  to  speak  precisely 
as  I  would  have  done  had  he  needed  to  be  saved  from  the 
errors  of  his  ways,  or  aroused  to  the  exigencies  of  the  situa- 
tion and  enlisted  as  a  soldier  in  "every  body's  Avar."  Noth- 
ing could  exceed  liis  gentle  faithfulness  in  telling  me  the  im- 
pressions made  upon  his  trained  and  w^ell-poised  mind,  from 
w^hich  statements  I  have  tried  to  profit.  When  I  had  heard 
all  that  he  had  to  saj'-,  we  went  our  several  ways,  and  I  had 
few  other  opportunities  for  conversation  with  him. 

But  there  are  hymns  that  I  shall  never  sing  without  per- 
ceiving him  before  me  with  his  lofty  brow  and  spiritual  coun- 
tenance, and  chief  among  them  is  his  favorite : 

"  Lead,  kindly  Light,  amid  the  encircling  gloom, 
Lead  thou  me  on." 


130  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


DR.  CROOK. 

I  write  not  as  a  pupil,  but  as  a  learner  and  admirer.  I 
met  Dr.  Hemenway  at  Minneapolis,  at  a  theological  confer- 
ence. He  was  its  very  able  conductor.  There,  as  often  else- 
where, there  seemed  to  me  an  exactness  and  precision,  bear- 
ing the  appearance  of  coldness  and  severity;  but  there  was 
withal  an  affability  and  manliness  very  admirable.  In  the 
progress  of  the  discussions  he  occasionally  gave  clear-cut 
statements,  which  I  have  carried  and  found  entering  into 
my  ministry.  Among  others  he  said  in  substance:  *' I  accept 
the  Bible  because  I  find  Christ  in  it  and  indorsing  it.  I  do 
not  accept  any  thing  primarily  because  I  find  it  in  the  Bible." 
I  may  not  represent  him  precisely,  but  he  made  it  clear  and 
precise.  He  gave  one  evening  to  the  then  new  hymnal,  to 
the  compiling  of  which  he  had  devoted  possibly  more  rea 
hard  work  than  any  one  of  the  committee.  It  was  a  great 
feast  to  hear  his  rich  comments  and  look  at  many  of  the 
hymns  through  the  hght  of  his  intelligent  enthusiasm.  He 
afterward  said  to  me,  at  our  place  of  entertainment,  that 
Lytle's  hymn,  "  Abide  with  me,"  was  the  finest  composition  in 
English  hymnology.  I  never  behold  the  hymn  without  see- 
ing his  clear-cut,  pensive  features,  and  hearing  the  tones  of 
"a  voice  that  is  still." 

MR.    CRANDON. 

For  several  years  Dr.  Hemenway  was  actively  associated 
with  me  in  Sunday-school  work.  As  a  Bible-class  instructor, 
and  as  the  leader  of  our  teachers'  meetings,  I  never  knew 
his  peer.  His  exposition  of  Scripture  was  clear,  forcible, 
and  exhaustive.  His  diction  was  elegant,  and  his  method 
of  discussion  secured  the  undivided  attention  of  his  audience. 
He  never  seemed  to  utter  a  superfluous  word,  yet  at  the  close 
of  any  of  his  exercises,  every  person  who  had  listened  to  him 
felt  that  nothing  which  was  worth  the  saying  had  been  left 
unsaid. 

His  resources  seemed  to  be  almost  illimitable.  Our  teach- 
ers' meetings  occurred  on  Saturday  evenings.  As  a  matter  of 
course  it  often  happened  that  the  Doctor  taught  a  Bible-class 


IN  MEMORIAM.  1^1 

on  f^unday  the  lesson  which  he  Imd  expounded  at  the  teachers' 
meeting  the  evening  before.    The  two   audiences  would  be 
reposed  in  part  of  the  same  persons.    I  never  knew  h,m    o 
pursL  the  san,e  method  of  exposition   or  to  "-   ^^^^  ^ 
iuHrations,  or  to  repeat  to  any  considerable  extent,  in   his 
SundaTte  ching,  what  he  had  said  to  the  Saturday  evening 
class      None  the  less,  however,  would  he  seem  in  each  exer- 
c  se  io  cover  the  enti;e  scope  of  the  text.     Aside  from  his  mar- 
velo  IS  powers  of  instruction,  he  was  in  many  other  ways  most 
hip  ul  in  all  our  Sunday-school  work.     He  was  par  ic^ar 
even  in  minute  details,  to  observe  all  the  genera    regulations 
orschool,  and  this  conformity  on  his  part  resulted  m  a  similar 
Iformily  on  the  part  of  those  who  would   otherwise  have 

been  somewhat  refractory.  :„,,^V,fP<l      I 

To  Dr  Hemenwav  I  am  personally  greatly  indebted.  1 
came  to  regard  him  as  the  ideal  Christian.  Generous,  sympa- 
thX  scholarly,  devout-it  would  be  difficult  to  suggest  any 
desirable  characteristic  which  he  did  not  possess^ 

To  have  known  him  was  a  benediction.  To  be  like  him 
would  be  to  be  worthy  of  the  profound  esteem  of  good  men^ 
I  cherish  his  memory  as  a  most  precious  inheritance,  and  I 
ecogni.e  in  his  life  and  character  an  ideal  exemplification  of 
Z  attainments  which,  under  Divine  guidance,  are  possible  to 
humanity. 

The  truest  and  best  memorial  of  such  a  man  as 
Dr    Hemenway  is  to  be  found  in  the  characters  and 
minds   of  those   whom   he   has   influenced   for  good. 
Two  material  monuments,  however,  should  be  men- 
tioned     When  the  South  Evanston  church  replaced 
its  building,  destroyed  by  fire,  with  a  more  beautiful 
structure,  it  was  decided   to  call  the  new  house  the 
Hemenway  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.     The  grace- 
ful edifice  stands  as  a  fair  and  fitting  memorial  to  this 
pastor  of  pastors.     It  was  built  under  the  leadership 
of  the  Rev.  Dr.  T.  P.  Marsh,  now  president  of  Mount 
Union  College. 


132  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 

As  the  Institute  grew  In  numbers,  a  new  hall  be- 
came a  necessity,  and  President  Ridgaway,  in  plan- 
ning for  it,  proposed  that  it  should  be  a  memorial 
hall,  to  commemorate  the  noble  men  and  women  who 
had  been  connected  with  the  seminary,  and  especially 
the  three  deceased  professors^-Drs.  Dempster,  Ban- 
nister, and  Hemenway.  In  the  exquisite  chapel,  the 
triple  south -window  has  been  especially  dedicated  to 
their  memory.  The  alumni  of  the  school  gave  the 
portion  inscribed  to  Dr.  Dempster,  and  the  First 
Church  of  Evanston  gave  two  thousand  dollars  on 
condition  that  the  side  w^indows  should  bear  the 
names  of  Drs.  Bannister  and  Hemenway.  The  plan 
of  the  design  for  this  ^^ teaching  window"  was  made 
by  Professor  Charles  W.  Bennett.  The  dove — sym- 
bol of  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  inspires  all  true  Christian 
teaching — is  at  the  top.  The  next  panels  contain 
three  emblems  of  Christ,  the  Pevealer  of  Christian 
truth.  Suitable  symbols  of  the  different  departments 
of  theological  instruction  in  which  each  professor  was 
engaged,  form  the  three  parts  of  the  next  section. 
A  figure  of  St.  Paul,  bearing  the  Sword  of  the  Spirit, 
is  the  central  figure  in  the  window.  The  artistic 
drawing  and  coloring,  and  the  richness  of  the  glass, 
render  these  windows  an  object  of  interest  to  many 
visitors,  and  daily  emphasize  to  the  students  the 
beauty  of  that  holiness  exemplified  by  the  noble  men 
whose  memory  is  thus  fitly  honored. 

The  study  of  such  a  life  as  Dr.  Hemen way's 
strengthens  the  belief  that  the  highest  character  is 
really  indescribable.  Its  quiet  force  is  subtle  and  in- 
definable, yet  so   powerful  and  so  unspeakably  valu- 


IN  iMEMORIAM.  133 

able  that  even  an  imperfect  biography  will  doubtless 
deepen  and  extend  its  holy  influence.  The  history 
of  the  great  religious  teachers  of  the  world  shows  that 
personal  influence,  exerted  first  upon  a  comparatively 
small  company,  and  then  extended  through  them  to 
others,  has  been  the  saving  leaven  of  the  world. 
Such  lives  prove  life  worth  living.  They  give  a 
silent  but  severe  rebuke  to  sordidness  and  selfish  am- 
bition. They  do  much  to  convince  men  that  there  is 
a  blessed  immortality.  To  the  Christian  they  make 
heaven  seem  real  and  near.  He  whom  we  loved  and 
wdio  helped  us  so  in  the  best  things,  is  now^  with 
Christ,  "whose  he  was  and  wdiom  he  served."  He 
who  so  prized  and  taught  us  to  value  the  songs  of 
Zion,  now  joins  in  the  eternal  harmonies  of  the  song 
of  Moses  and  the  Lamb. 

"  0  sweet  and  blessed  country, 

The  home  of  God's  elect! 
O  sweet  and  blessed  country, 

That  eager  hearts  expect! 
Jesus,  in  mercy  bring  us 

To  that  dear  land  of  rest — 
Who  art,  with  God  the  Father, 

And  Spirit,  ever  blest." 


studies  ir)  riyiT)r)olo6y 


EDITED    BY 


REV.  CHARLES  M.  STUART. 


IKTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 


DR.  HEMENWAY  believed  the  Hymnal  to  be  the 
third  in  the  trinity  of  books  which  ought  to  consti- 
tute the  basis  of  every  Methodist  pastor's  library.  The 
other  two  were,  of  course,  the  Bible  and  the  Discipline. 
To  stimulate  an  interest  in,  and  further  a  discriminating 
appreciation  of,  the  best  in  hymnody,  he  gave  occasional 
lectures  on  the  subject;  which  lectures  he  was  preparing 
to  issue  in  book-form  at  the  time  of  his  death.  It  is  inter- 
esting to  note,  as  illustrating  the  method  and  orderliness 
characteristic  of  all  his  work,  that  he  left  a  memorandum 
naming  the  book,  enumerating  the  chapters,  and  outlining 
the  contents  of  the  preface. 

The  book  was  to  be  called    "  Our   Hymns,  and   Their 
Authors,"  and  to  consist  of  the  following  twelve  chapters: 

I.  Hymns  and  Lyric  Poetry  in  General. 
11.  Hymns  of  the  Ancient  Church. 

III.  Earlier  Mediaeval  Hymns. 

IV.  Later  Mediaeval  Hymns. 

V.  Hymns  from  German  and  French  Authors. 
VI.  Earlier  English  Hymns. 
VII.  Watts  and  the  Wesleys. 
VIII.  Other  Hymn-writers  of  the  Eighteenth  Century. 
IX.  Later  English  Hymns. 

X.  American  Hymns. 
XL  Modern  Catholic  and  Unitarian  Hymns. 
XII.  Woman  in  Hymnody. 

The  manuscript  was  complete  to  the  end  of  the  seventh 
chapter,  and  was  in  perfect  order.     The  only  change  which 

10  137 


138  INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 

the  editor  has  taken  the  liberty  of  making  is  to  divide  the 
seventh  chapter  according  to  the  very  obvious  lines  laid 
down  in  the  title. 

The  design  of  the  work  included  only  hymns  in  com- 
mon use  "in  the  congregations  and  homes  of  America," 
and  "to  say  only  so  much  as  was  necessary  to  identify  and 
individualize  the  author  and  to  introduce  the  hymns." 
Where  anything  special  was  known  concerning  the  origin 
or  history  of  a  hymn,  it  would  be  mentioned.  The  book 
should  be  popular  in  style,  but  special  pains  would  be  taken 
to  insure  accuracy  of  statement.  In  this  latter  respect  the 
author  thought  the  work  would  "  contrast  favorably  with 
anything  of  its  general  character  in  our  language." 

The  work  speaks  for  itself.  It  is  only  to  be  regretted 
that  a  work  so  useful,  so  well  planned,  and  so  thoroughly, 
intelligently,  and  conscientiously  begun,  could  not  have 
been  completed.  One  does  not  think  of  the  lamented 
author  without  associating  with  him  a  fivorite  hymn. 
That  he  had  many  favorites,  the  varying  testimony  of 
friends  implies;  and  that  testimony  is  at  once  an  evidence 
of  his  discriminating  taste,  catholicity,  and  ample  knowl- 
edge— it  shows  that  he  always  loved  the  best. 

His  students  and  parishioners  remember  tlie  singular 
felicity  and  aptness  with  which  he  used  liymns  in  public 
discourse,  and  the  rarely  beautiful  and  impressive  elocu- 
tion with  which  they  were  delivered. 

The  General  Conference  of  187(5  ordered  a  revision  of 
the  Hymnal,  and  authorized  the  appointment  of  a  com- 
mittee of  fifteen  to  undertake  the  work.  Among  the  num- 
ber selected  was  Dr.  Hemenway,  and  his  name  appears 
first  in  the  list  of  five  who  constituted  the  Western  section. 
Of  the  quality  and  extent  of  his  work  on  the  revision,  the 
Revs.  Dr.  Edwards  and  Dr.  Buckley,  also  members  of  the 
committee,  write  elsewhere.     The    elaborate  report  of   the 


INTRO D  UCTOR  Y  NO  TE.  139 

committee  to  the  bishops,  a  pamphlet  of  seventy-five  pages, 
was  the  joint  work  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Buckley  and  Dr.  Hem- 
enway,  the  latter  writing  that  part  of  it  embraced  in  pp. 
23-75.  In  this,  under  the  discussion  of  *'  New  Hymns,"  he 
adds  historical  notes  of  great  interest  and  value.  In  nothing, 
perhaps,  was  this  delightful  accomplishment  of  Dr.  Hemen- 
way's  used  to  so  large  and  fruitful  advantage  as  in  impress- 
ing upon  prospective  pastors  the  dignity  of  hymn-singing 
as  an  element  of  worship.  To  him  music  was  divine,  not 
diversion ;  and  as  divine,  to  be  treated  as  all  divine  things 
are  treated,  with  intelligent  reverence  and  devout  consid- 
eration. 

One  wish  was  dear  to  him.  It  was  that  a  knowledge  of 
hymns  and  hymn-writers  might  be  popularized.  Not  for 
the  sake  of  its  pleasing  and  curious  information,  but  that 
the  psalmody  of  the  church  might  be  "in  the  spirit  and 
with  the  understanding,"  and  that  the  song  service  might 
accomplish  something  more  of  its  mission  among  the  people 
as  a  kind  of  spiritual  dynamics.  It  would  delight  him, 
even  where  he  is  now,  to  know  that  his  work  in  this  direc- 
tion was  being  used  to  that  end.  We  venture  to  suggest 
the  use  of  these  lectures  for  an  occasional  Sunday  or  week- 
day service.  It  would  not  fail  to  interest,  instruct,  and  in- 
spire. With  Augustine,  many  have  testified,  and  many  will 
yet  testify :  ' '  The  hymns  and  songs  of  thy  church  moved 
my  soul  intensely.  Thy  truth  was  distilled  by  them  into 
my  heart.  The  flame  of  piety  was  kindled,  and  my  tears 
flowed  for  joy." 


STUDIES  IN  HYiXNOLOGY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

HYMNS  AND  LYRIC  POETRY  IN  GENERAL. 

AS  we  turn  our  attention  to  lyric  poetry  in  general, 
the  first  thing  which  impresses  us  is  its  antiquity. 
The  oldest  human  literature  has  come  to  us  in  this 
form.  The  most  ancient  books  of  the  Hindoos,  and, 
as  many  think,  the  most  ancient  of  all  human  books, 
are  the  famous  Vedic  hymns,  which,  by  the  most 
moderate  calculation,  are  nearly  three  thousand  years 
old.  The  entire  number  of  these  is  1,0L*8 ;  and  as 
early  as  600  B.  C.  their  verses,  words,  and  syllables 
had  been  carefully  enumerated.  The  oldest  of  the 
Chinese  sacred  books  is  the  third  of  the  ante-Con- 
fucian classics — called  by  them  the  ''  Book  of  Odes  " — 
fragments  of  which  are  seen  scattered  over  tea-chests 
and  other  articles  of  Chinese  manufacture.  As  to  the 
relative  antiquity  of  the  Vedas  in  Hindoo  literature, 
and  the  Book  of  Odes  in  Chinese  literature,  there  is 
no  difference  of  opinion;  but  it  is  impossible  to  de- 
termine with  certainty,  or  even  a  high  degree  of 
probability,  the  absolute  age  of  either.  The  general 
estimate  of  those  most  competent  to  form  an  opinion 
on  the  subject  is,  that  both  may  date  from  1000  to 
1200  years  B.  C. ;  thus,  in  the  matter  of  age,  ranking 
with  the  Davidic  Psalms. 

141 


142  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

The  oldest  fragment  in  our  Bible,  and  probably 
the  oldest  bit  of  poetry — and,  indeed,  of  literature  of 
any  sort — in  the  world,  is  the  song  of  Laniech,  which 
is  recorded  in  the  fourth  chapter  of  Genesis: 

•'  Adah  and  Zillah,  hear  my  voice; 
Wives  of  Lamech,  hearken  to  my  speech; 
For  a  man  have  I  slain  for  smiting  me, 
And  a  young  man  for  wounding  me. 
Surely  seven-fold  shall  Cain  be  avenged, 
But  Lamech  seventy  and  seven."— Gen.  iv,  23,  24. 

Herder,  Avith  whom  Delitzsch  substantially  agrees, 
calls  this  "a  song  of  the  sword.''  It  articulates  that 
spirit  of  pride  and  atheistic  self-confidence  which  cul- 
minated in  the  rebellion  and  catastrophe  of  Babel. 
Lamech  virtually  says,  and  with  so  much  of  passion 
that  his  utterance  is  crystallized  into  poetry :  ^^  I  will 
protect  and  avenge  myself  with  the  weapons  which 
my  son,  Tubal-Cain,  can  forge.  I  will  avenge  my- 
self more  terribly  than  God  threatened  to  avenge 
Cain." 

"Surely  seven-fold  shall  Cain  be  avenged, 
But  Lamech  seventy  and  seven." 

It  is  interesting  to  find,  in  this  one  specimen  of  ante- 
diluvian literature  which  has  come  down  to  us,  all  the 
peculiar  characteristics  of  Oriental,  and  particularly  of 
Hebrew  poetry — rhythm,  assonance,  parallelism,  and 
poetic  diction. 

Coming  to  Christian  lyric  poetry,  we  are  at  once 
struck  with  its  vast  extent  and  incomparable  wealth. 
It  is  estimated  that  in  the  German  language  alone 
there  are  80,000  Christian  hymns,  ^^'  and  in  the  English 
40,000.     Even   as   early  as  1751,  says   Kurtz   in   his 


HYMNS  AND  LYRIC  POETRY.  143 

Church    History,   J.  Jacob  V.  Moser   collected  a  list 
of  50,000  printed  hymns  in  the  German  language. 

Not  only  is  the  gross  amount  so  considerable,  its 
diifusion  is  still  more  to  be  noted.  Next  to  the  Chris- 
tian sacred  books,  nothing  in  literature  has  been  so  mul- 
tiplied as  copies  of  Christian  hymns.  The  multiplica- 
tion of  certain  choice  and  popular  books — such,  for 
instance,  as  the  ^^  Imitation,"  the  "  Pilgrim's  Progress," 
and  the  "Thousand  and  One  Nights,'^  in  many  lan- 
guages, and  in  every  variety  of  form,  cheap  and  costly, 
plain  and  elaborate — is  something  wonderful;  for  the 
highest  proof  which  life  can  give  of  its  own  existence 
and  fullness  is  its  continuous  creative  energy;  and  yet 
all  this  falls  immeasurably  short  of  the  truth  touch- 
ing the  choicest  hymns.  Copies  of  some  of  these  may 
be  counted  literally  by  the  million.  They  rival  the 
Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Ten  Commandments  in  their 
hold  on  human  memories.  There  are  not  a  few  into 
whose  memories  verses  of  hymns  came  earlier  than 
verses  of  Scripture,  and  they  will  be  more  likely  to 
speak  them  with  their  dying  breath. 

A  hymn  is  the  most  subtle  and  spiritual  thing 
which  a  man  can  create.  It  must  be  in  JaQi,  if  not 
in  jorm,  a  transcript  of  his  highest  and  holiest  expe- 
riences; for  the  distinguishing  characteristic  of  lyric 
poetrv  is  the  stamp  it  bears  of  the  personal  conscious- 
ness. The  most  perfect  expressions  of  the  Christian 
creed  and  life  are  found  in  the  hymns  of  the  church. 
As  influences  for  good  they  are  at  once  subtle  and 
powerful,  swaying  our  natures  as  nothing  else  can. 
"  What  care  I,"  says  Falstaff,  "  for  the  bulk  and  big 
assemblage  of  a   man?     Give   me   the  spirit,  Master 


144  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

Shallow,  give  me  the  spirit/'  Now,  the  spirit  of  hu- 
manity, and  of  the  Christian  church,  in  a  sense  infi- 
nitely higher  than  Shakspeare's  hero  could  under- 
stand, are  found  in  lyric  poetry  as  nowhere  else. 
The  subtle  essence,  the  delicate  hues,  the  delicious 
fragrance,  and  ethereal  beauty  of  spiritual  character, 
are  here  most  variously  and  beautifully  exhibited. 

Bishop  Wordsworth,  in  the  somewhat  elaborate 
essay  on  Christian  hymns  prefixed  to  his  '^  Holy 
Year,"  complains  that  while  the  ancient  hymns  are 
distinguished  by  self-forgetfulness,  the  modern  are 
characterized  by  self-consciousness.  ^^  In  ancient 
hymns  man  is  always  elevated  to  God  ;  in  modern,  God 
is  too  often  depressed  to  man.  In  these  last,  the  in- 
dividual often  detaches  and  isolates  himself  from  the 
body  of  the  faithful,  and  in  a  spirit  of  sentimental 
selfishness  obtrudes  his  own  feelings  concerning  him- 
self; and  claiming,  as  it  were,  a  monopoly  of  spiritual 
privileges  for  himself,  makes  it  to  be  the  theme  of 
praise  to  God  the  Father  of  all  that  he  has  had  mercy 
on  /u'm,  and  to  Christ  the  Savior  of  the  world  that  he 
has  died  for  hhn;  and  he  comes  forward  to  speak  to 
God  concerning  his  own  spiritual  state,  contrasted 
with  that  of  others,  in  a  tone  of  self-congratulation 
which  sometimes  seems  to  be  not  far  removed  from 
that  of  the  Pharisee  in  the  Gospel ;  and  he  does  this 
in  public  worship,  in  the  house  of  God,  and  makes  his 
own  individuality  to  be,  as  it  were,  the  axis  around 
which  all  the  congregation,  and  even  the  heavenly 
sphere  itself,  is  caused  to  revolve."  As  illustrative 
examples  he  cites  the  following :  "  When  I  can  read 
my  title  clear,"  "When  I  survey  the  wondrous  cross," 


HYMNS  AND  LYRIC  POETRY.  145 

"  I  hold  the  sacred  book  of  God/'  "  My  God,  the 
spring  of  all  my  joys;"  and  he  also  quotes,  as  illus- 
trating not  only  this  egotistical  character,  but  also  a 
certain  reprehensible  self-assurance,  and  a  lamiliar 
and  even  amatory  style  of  address — 

"  Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul, 
Let  me  to  thy  bosom  fly," 

which  he  says  he  has  heard  "■  given  out  to  be  sung  by 
every  member  of  a  large,  mixed  congregation,  in  a 
dissolute  part  of  a  populous  and  irreligious  city." 

Seldom  were  words  ever  written  which  betray  a 
more  absolute  want  of  comprehension  of  the  whole 
subject  of  lyric  poetry.  Its  one  grand,  distinguishing 
characteristic  is  the  fact  that  we  see  here,  as  nowhere 
else,  the  glory  of  individual  life  and  experience.  It 
must  be  confessed  that  there  are  hymns  which  illus- 
trate some  of  the  objectionable  tendencies  pointed  out 
by  the  distinguished  prelate ;  but  certainly  the  hymns 
he  specifies  show  very  clearly  how  a  hymn  can  be 
a  genuine  lyric,  reflecting  most  clearly  and  vividly 
the  individual  consciousness,  and  yet  be  thoroughly 
free  from  obtrusive  egotism.  The  most  perfect  and 
most  universally  intelligible  model  of  religious  poetry 
holds  such  language  as  the  following:  "The  Lord  is 
my  shepherd;  I  shall  not  want.  He  maketh  me  to  lie 
down  in  green  pastures;  he  leadeth  me  beside  the 
still  waters."  Wiser  was  Luther,  who  used  to  thank 
God  for  these  same  little  words — these  words  of  per- 
sonal confession  and  appropriation.  It  is  compara- 
tively unimportant  whether  the  hymn  stand  in  the 
singular  or  plural  number;   the  one  thing  essential  is 


146  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

that  it  be  a  crystallization  of  personal  thought  and  ex- 
perience. The  great  hymns  of  the  church — the  hymns 
of  the  ages — hymns  which  stand  pre-eminent  as  ex- 
pressions of  the  life  of  God  in  the  soul  of  man — are 
almost  uniformly  such  as  come  most  directly  out  of 
the  experience  of  the  writer.  Charles  Wesley's  hymns 
are  eminently  autobiographic.  That  grand  hymn 
which  has  so  long  held  the  place  of  honor  in  both 
English  and  American  Methodist  hymn-books — "O 
for  a  thousand  tongues  to  sing" — was  written  on  the 
first  anniversary  of  Mr.  Wesley's  spiritual  birth. 
Equally  evident  is  it  that  his  holiest  aspirations  and 
his  most  blissful  experiences  are  given  voice  in  such 
hymns  as :  ^^  O  love  divine,  how  sweet  thou  art ;" 
"Love  divine,  all  loves  excelling;''  "Vain,  delusive 
world,  adieu."  Two  of  his  hymns,  very  familiar  to 
Methodists,  were  addressed  to  his  wife  on  her  birthday  : 

"Come  away  to  the  skies,  my  beloved,  arise, 
And  rejoice  in  the  day  thou  wast  born." 

"  Come,  let  us  ascend,  my  companion  and  friend. 
To  a  taste  of  the  banquet  above."  (-' 

The  connection  of  the  hymn  "God  moves  in  a 
mysterious  way"  with  Cowper's  personal  history  is 
well  known.^"^^  John  Newton's  most  characteristic, 
though  by  no  means  most  famous  or  most  beautiful, 
hymn  is  a  mere  transcript  of  his  spiritual  autobiog- 
raphy:  "I  saw  one  hanging  on  the  tree."^^^  The 
hymn  of  Anne  Steele,  which  is  most  universally 
known  and  most  frequently  used,  "  Father,  whate'er 
of  earthly  bliss,"  is  beyond  question  the  simple  out- 
breathing   of  her   personal  trust   and   submission  be- 


HYMNS  AND  LYRIC  POETRY.  147 

neath  the  heavy  burdens  of  sorrow  which  she,  more 
than  others,  was  called  to  bear.'-'^'  Charlotte  Elliott's 
*'  Just  as  I  am  "  is  the  expression  of  the  experience 
into  which  she  herself  had  come,  after  long  and  pain- 
ful preparation.  John  Keble's  most  frequently  used 
hymn,  "  Sun  of  my  soul,"  exhibits  the  very  charac- 
teristic which  is  so  offensive  to  Bishop  Wordsworth /^^ 
And,  as  we  look  through  the  whole  range  of  hymnol- 
ogy,  and  consider  the  hymns  which  all  agree  to  un- 
derstand, to  love,  and  to  use,  we  shall  find  the  great 
majority  of  them  to  be  couched  in  the  language  of 
personal  confession  and  appropriation,  such  as  shows 
them  to  be  the  outpouring  of  the  most  sacred  and 
most  spiritual  experiences. 

As  a  means  of  Christian  influence  hymns  are  most 
serviceable,  and  sometimes  well-nigh  irresistible.  The 
pure  waters  of  holy  song  will  sometimes  make  their 
way  into  places  dark  and  deathful,  which  no  other  in- 
fluence from  heaven  can  reach.  A  few  years  since  a 
little  party  of  American  travelers,  happening  to  be  in 
Montreal,  took  occasion  to  visit  the  celebrated  Grey 
Nunnery,  one  of  the  w^ealthiest  religious  houses  on 
this  continent.  As  Ave  were  being  conducted  through 
the  establishment,  we  came  to  the  school-room  con- 
taining the  orphan  children,  kept  there  as  one  branch 
of  their  charities.  For  our  entertainment,  the  chil- 
dren were  set  to  singing.  What  was  our  surprise  and 
delight  to  hear  them  sing  our  common  Protestant 
Sunday-school  hymns,  such  as  ^'I  have  a  Father  in 
the  Promised  Land,"  ''1  want  to  be  an  angel," 
^' There  is  a  happy  land!"  What  other  form  of 
evangelical   influence    could   have    made    its    way    so 


148  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOG  Y. 

successfully    through    the    bolts    and    bars    of    that 
convent  ? 

There  is  a  familiar  incident  connected  with  one  of 
Phebe  Gary's  hymns  which  may  well  be  taken  as 
representative  of  a  very  large  class  of  similar  in- 
stances showing  the  power  of  sacred  song.  A  few 
years  since  two  men,  Americans — one  middle-aged, 
the  other  a  young  man — met  in  a  gambling-house  in 
Canton,  China.  They  had  been  engaged  in  play  to- 
gether during  the  evening,  and  the  young  man  had 
lost  heavily.  While  the  older  one  was  shuffling  the 
cards  for  a  new  deal,  his  companion  leaned  back  in  his 
chair,  and  began  mechanically  to  sing  a  fragment  of 
Miss  Cary's  exquisite  hymn,  "One  sweetly  solemn 
thought.''  As  these  words,  so  tender  and  so  beautiful, 
fell  on  the  ear  of  the  man  hardened  in  sin,  dead  mem- 
ories in  his  heart  came  to  life  again.  He  sprang  up 
excitedly,  exclaiming :  "  Where  did  you  learn  that 
hymn  ?  I  can  't  stay  here  !"  And,  in  spite  of  the 
taunts  of  his  companion,  he  hurried  him  away,  and 
confessed  to  him  the  story  of  his  long  wanderings 
from  a  happy  Christian  home.  At  the  same  time  he 
expressed  his  determination  to  lead  a  better  life,  and 
urged  his  companion  in  sin  to  join  him.  The  res- 
olution was  kept,  the  man  was  reclaimed,  and  the* 
story  of  his  recovery  came  back  to  bless  Miss  Cary 
before  she  died.  This  hymn,  God's  invisible  angel, 
had  gone  with  the  man,  through  all  those  weary 
years  of  sin,  and  finally  led  him  back  to  purity  and 
salvation. 

An   oft-repeated   incident   connected  with   one  of 
the  best  hymns  of  Charles  Wesley  well  illustrates  the 


HYMNS  AND  L  YRIC  FOE  TR  V.  149 

power  of  this  means  of  influence.  The  only  daughteJ 
of  a  wealthy  and  worldly  nobleman  was  awakened 
and  converted  at  a  Methodist  meeting  in  London. 
This  was  to  her  father  an  occasion  of  bitter  grief  and 
disappointment,  and  he  at  once  set  about  winning  her 
back  to  her  former  associations.  Having  vainly  tried 
other  means  to  draw  her  away  from  her  newly  found 
faith,  he  at  last  formed  a  plan  the  object  of  which 
was  to  bring  to  bear  upon  her  the  combined  influence 
of  her  former  most  intimate  associates  and  friends, 
and  that,  too,  under  such  conditions  that  she  would 
be  unable  to  resist  it.  He  arranged  to  invite  to  his 
own  home  a  number  of  her  gay  and  worldly  asso- 
ciates, hoping,  by  their  influence,  to  entangle  her 
again  in  the  meshes  of  fashionable  dissipation.  The 
company  assembled,  and  all,  in  high  spirits,  entered 
upon  the  pleasures  of  the  evening.  According  to  the 
plan  preconcerted,  several  of  the  party  took  their 
turn  in  singing  a  song,  of  course  selecting  such  as 
comported  with  the  gayety  and  worldliness  of  the 
occasion.  Then  the  young  lady  herself,  being  an  ac- 
complished musician,  was  called  upon.  She  distinctly 
saw  that  the  critical  hour  had  come.  Pale,  but  com- 
posed, she  took  her  seat  at  the  piano,  and,  after  run- 
ning her  fingers  over  the  keys,  sang  these  verses  of 
Charles  Wesley\s  incomparable  hymn  : 

"  No  room  for  mirth  or  trifling  here, 
For  worldly  hope  or  worldly  fear, 

If  life  so  soon  is  gone ; 
If  now  the  Judge  is  at  the  door, 
And  all  mankind  must  stand  before 

The  inexorable  throne. 


150  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

No  matter  which  my  thoughts  employ, 
A  moment's  misery  or  joy ; 

But  O,  when  both  shall  end, 
Where  shall  I  find  my  destined  place? 
Shall  I  my  everlasting  days 

With  fiends  or  angels  spend? 

Nothing  is  worth  a  thought  beneath 
But  how  I  may  escape  the  death 

That  never,  never  dies! 
How  make  mine  own  election  sure. 
And,  when  I  fail  on  earth,  secure 

A  mansion  in  the  skies. 

Jesus,  vouchsafe  a  pitying  ray ; 

Be  thou  my  guide,  be  thou  my  way 

To  glorious  happiness. 
Ah!  write  the  pardon  on  my  heart; 
And  whensoe'er  I  hence  depart, 

Let  me  depart  in  peace." ('^) 

She  had  conquered.  Truths  so  solemn  and 
weighty,  borne  on  soul-moving  music,  and  illustrated 
by  the  humility  and  heroism  of  her  who  now  sat  in 
her  own  father's  hotise,  in  the  midst  of  this  joyous 
company,  alone  with  God,  could  not  be  resisted. 
The  father  wept  aloud,  and  afterward  himself  became 
a  trophy  of  his  daughter's  courage  and  fidelity. 

As  an  inHti'umeid  of  expression  song  is  equally 
serviceable.  It  gathers  up  into  itself  our  sweetest, 
saddest,  most  heroic,  and  most  spiritual  experiences. 
When  the  soul  comes  to  its  divinest  heights,  song  is 
sure  to  be  there.  If  it  i,s  not  already  in  waiting,  the 
inspired  soul  at  once  creates  it,  as  did  Mary  the  Mag- 
nificat and  Simeon  the  Nunc  Dimitfis.  Rarely  was 
there  ever  witnessed  a  scene  of  more  thrilling:  inter- 
est   than   that   of  the    reunion    of  the   Old   and    New 


HYMNS  AND  LYRIC  POETRY.  151 

School  divisions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  which 
took  place  in  Pittsburg  in  May,  1869.  On  the  day 
appointed,  the  two  bodies  met  in  their  respective 
places,  and  then,  having  formed  in  the  street  in  par- 
allel columns,  joined  ranks,  one  of  each  assembly 
arm  in  arm  with  one  of  the  other,  and  so  marched  to 
the  place  where  the  services  were  to  be  held.  As 
the  head  of  the  column  entered  the  church,  already 
crowded,  save  the  seats  reserved  for  the  delegates,  the 
audience  struck  up  the  hymn,  ''  Blow  ye  the  trumpet, 
blow;"  and,  when  all  were  in  their  places,  '^AU  hail 
the  power  of  Jesus'  name !"  After  the  reading  of 
the  Scriptures  came  the  hymn  of  Watts,  '^  Blest  are 
the  sons  of  peace.''  The  interest  of  the  occasion  cul- 
minated when  Dr.  Fowler,  the  moderator  of  tlie  New 
School  Assembly,  at  the  close  of  his  remarks,  turned 
to  Dr.  Jacobus,  the  moderator  of  the  Old  School  As- 
sembly, and  said:  "My  dear  brother  Moderator,  may 
we  not,  before  I  take  my  seat,  perform  a  single  act 
symbolical  of  the  union  which  has  taken  place  be- 
tween the  two  branches  of  the  church  ?  Let  us 
clasp  hands !"  This  challenge  was  immediately  re- 
sponded to,  when  all  joined  in  singing  the  grand  old 
doxology  of  Bishop  Ken,  ^'  Praise  God,  from  whom 
all  blessings  flow !"  And  at  the  conclusion  of  Dr. 
Jacobus's  remarks,  amid  flowing  tears  and  with  swell- 
ing hearts,  the  thousands  present  joined  in  singing 
the  precious  hymn,  written  just  about  a  century  be- 
fore, by  that  grand  and  tuneful  Baptist  minister,  John 
Fawcett,  himself  a  convert  of  George  Whitefield, 
"Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds."  Little  did  those 
happy  Presbyterians   think  or  care  that    two  of   the 


152  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

hyniDS  for  this  hour  of  their  supreme  gladness  were 
furnished  by  Methodists,  one  by  a  Congregational- 
ist,  one  by  an  Episcopalian  bishop,  and  one  by  a 
Baptist. 

And  so  do  hymns  bear  interesting  and  conclusive 
testimony  to  the  catholicity  of  Christianity  and  the 
essential  unity  of  the  church.  In  them  we  see  what 
is  essential  and  permanent  as  contrasted  with  that 
which  is  merely  formal  and  ephemeral.  They  do,  in- 
deed, reflect  the  surface  of  the  Christian  conscious- 
ness, whose  phenomena  are  continually  changing ;  but 
the  hymns  which  have  a  life  so  permanent  as  to  be 
accounted  the  *^  hymns  of  the  ages  ^'  come  out  of  the 
very  depths  of  that  consciousness.  For  the  most 
part,  such  hymns  do  not  so  much  illustrate  the  variety 
and  separations  of  the  church  as  its  oneness.  Chris- 
tianity is  simply  the  one  life  of  Jesus  Christ,  and, 
how^ever  multitudinous  may  be  the  channels  through 
w^hich  it  flows,  it  is  everywhere  and  always  one. 
And  so  our  hymnody  is  a  visible  evangelical  alliance, 
where  Catholic  and  Protestant,  Oriental  and  Occi- 
dental, the  ancient  and  the  modern,  Calvinist  and 
Arminian,  Unitarian  and  Evangelical,  blend  indis- 
tinguishably  in  the  one  grand  and  universal  song. 
What  Protestant  hymnal  would  be  felt  to  be  com- 
plete without  the  hymns  of  such  eminent  Catholics 
as  Gregory,  Bernard,  King  Robert  of  France,  Faber, 
Newman,  and  Bridges?  What  Arminian  would  think 
of  dispensing  with  the  hymns  of  such  distinguished, 
and  some  of  them  high  and  extreme,  Calvinists  as 
Watts,  Doddridge,  Toplady,  Newton,  Baxter,  Bonar, 
and    multitudes    of   others?     What    Calvinist    would 


HYMNS  AND  L  YRIC  FOE  TR  V.  153 

think  of  dispensing  with  the  hymns  of  the  Wesleys, 
Perronet,  Olivers,  Heber,  Keble,  and  Lyte?  Who 
would  think  the  hymn-books  intended  for  the  use  of 
orthodox  and  evangelical  churches  to  be  quite  per- 
fect if  all  the  hymns  of  Barbauld,  Bowring,  Adams, 
Holmes,  Longfellow,  and  Sears  were  left  out?  What 
Churchman,  during  the  present  century,  has  been  sat- 
isfied to  leave  out  of  his  hymnal  all  hymns  from  such 
Dissenters  as  Doddridge,  Watts,  and  Wesley?  On 
these  heights  of  sacred  song  the  atmosphere  is  so  rare 
and  so  pure  that,  for  the  most  part,  the  voices  of 
earthly  strife  and  discord  sink  away  into  silence,  and 
only  the  harmonies  which  are  borne  down  to  us  from 
the  upper  sanctuary  are  distinctly  heard. 

One  of  the  best  illustrations  of  this  is  furnished 
in  the  history  of  a  hymn  which  all  Protestant  Chris- 
tians agree  to  place  in  the  very  front  rank  of  hymns : 
"  Rock  of  Ages,  cleft  for  me/'  Its  author,  Mr.  Top- 
lady,  was  one  of  the  best  and  bitterest  of  Mr.  Wes- 
ley's opponents,  the  points  of  difference  between  them 
being  mainly  such  as  were  involved  in  the  Calvinistic 
controversy.  Especially  was  he  disgusted  at  the  Wes- 
leyan  doctrine  of  Christian  perfection  as  being,  in  his 
view,  inconsistent  with  the  doctrines  of  grace  ;  and 
so  he  wrote  this  hymn,  which  expresses  the  utter 
nothingness  of  human  merit,  and  represents  the  soul 
as  finding  its  only  refuge  in  the  merit  of  Christ,  giv- 
ing to  it  this  controversial  title  :  "  A  living  and  dying 
prayer  for  the  holiest  believer  in  the  world."  The 
hymn  was  at  ^once  caught  up  by  Christian  people, 
and  by  none  more  eagerly  than  by  the  Methodists, 
against  whom  it  was  written,  and  who  to-day  sing  it 

11 


154  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

as  heartily  as  they  do  the  hymns  of  Charles  Wesley 
himself.  Thus  did  Mr.  Toplady,  the  hymn-writer, 
demonstrate  his  oneness  with  the  very  people  against 
whom  Mr.  Toplady,  the  polemic,  had  leveled  his 
keenest  shafts. 


HYMNS  OF  THE  ANCIENT  CHURCH.        155 


CHAPTER   II. 

HYMNS   OF   THE   ANCIENT    CHURCH. 

IN  our  attempts  to  illustrate  this  subject  of  hymnol- 
ogy  we  must  labor  under  one  embarrassment. 
Many  of  the  most  notable  hymns  were  written  in 
other  languages  than  ours,  and  a  lyric  poem  never 
bears  translation  well.*^^^  That  adjustment  of  sound 
to  sense,  of  rhyme  and  meter  to  thought,  which 
makes  a  poem  perfect  in  one  language,  if  once  it  be 
disturbed  for  purposes  of  translation,  can  never  be 
perfectly  restored.  When  these  beautiful  crystals  of 
thought  and  feeling  are  broken,  their  high  and  pe- 
culiar value  is  gone.  At  the  best  we  can  only  use  the 
fragments,  in  each  of  which  may  be  seen  some  gleam 
of  the  original  glory,  to  help  us  to  conceive  what  that 
glory  really  was. .  Some  of  the  best  and  most  eminent 
hymns,  whose  names  are  as  household  words,  have 
never  been  known,  and  can  never  be  known  by  us 
in  their  true  and  proper  character.  We  do  not  see 
them  face  to  face;  and  that  image  of  them  which  is 
reflected  in  the  best  translation  is  more  or  less  dis- 
torted and  imperfect.  They  have  lost  in  great  meas- 
ure their  distinctive  poetic  character — the  music  of 
numbers,  the  nice  adjustment  of  epithets,  the  delicate 
hues  of  spiritual  beauty,  and  many  of  those  gleams 
of  personal  life  and  experience  which  constitute  the 
peculiar  charm  of  lyric  poetry. 


156  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOIOGY. 

The  oldest  hymn  of  the  Christian  Church  outside 
of  the  Bible  is  that  known  as  the  '^Trisagion/'  or, 
more  commonly,  by  its  Latin  name,  "  Tersanctus," 
"  Thrice  holy.''  It  is  the  earliest  of  the  many  echoes 
which  the  song  of  the  seraphim,  as  heard  by  Isaiah, 
has  awakened  in  Christian  literature.  Neither  its 
precise  date  nor  author,  nor  the  circumstances  of  its 
origin,  can  now  be  ascertained.'-^^  All  we  are  quite 
certain  of  is,  that  it  goes  back  to  the  second  century 
of  Christian  history — to  that  age  which  touched  upon 
the-  work  of  the  apostles  themselves — and  that  it  has 
from  the  first  held  its  place  in  the  holy  of  holies 
of  Christian  worship;  for  it  is  found  in  all  the 
anti-Nicene  liturgies  as  well  as  in  the  principal  ones 
of  later  times.  With  the  exception  of  one  or  two 
brief  doxologies,  it  contains  the  oldest  uninspired 
words  of  Christian  praise  in  any  language.  It  runs 
through  the  Christian  centuries  like  a  thread  of  gold, 
joining  in  one  the  praises  of  devout  hearts  in  every 
age  and  clime.  Even  in  the  words  of  translation  in 
which  w^e  know  it,  its  simplicity  and  beauty,  its 
strength  and  majesty,  are  most  evident : 

"  It  is  very  meet,  right,  and  our  boimden  duty  that  we 
should  at  all  times  and  in  all  jjlaees  give  thanks  unto  thee,  O 
Lord,  holy  Father,  almighty,  everlasting  God.  Therefore, 
with  angels  and  archangels,  and  all  the  company  of  heaven, 
we  laud  and  magnify  thy  glorious  name,  evermore  praising 
thee  and  saying:  Holy,  holy,  holy  Lord  God  of  hosts,  heaven 
and  earth  are  full  of  thy  glory!  Glory  be  to  thee,  0  Lord, 
most  high !" 

What  a  perfect  religion  is  here  !  How  catholic, 
how  universal!  It  contains  a  glorious  vision  of  the 
^^  all-temple"  state.     It  shows   the   whole   family,  in 


HYMNS  OF  THE  ANCIENT  CHURCH.        157 

earth  and  heaven,  united  in  one  song.  Though  it 
had  its  birth  in  a  time  of  fiercest  persecution — when 
any  public  act  of  Christian  worship  might  end  in 
martyrdom,  when  the  song  of  praise  begun  on  earth 
might  be  finished,  "  after  a  brief  agony,"  before  the 
throne  of  God — yet  it  rises  sublimely  above  these 
dark  and  dreadful  conditions.  The  gloom,  the  strife, 
the  scorn,  and  the  bitter  injustice  of  their  earthly  lot, 
their  spiritual  anguish  and  their  mortal  agony  do  not 
even  cast  a  shadow  upon  it.  As  this  song  of  the 
seraphim  goes  back  to  heaven  from  men,  poor,  de- 
spised, and  hunted  even  to  martyrdom,  it  gathers  into 
itself  a  wonderful  sweetness  and  power,  such  as  must 
make  even  the  angels  lean  silent  on  their  harps  to 
hear ! 

With  this  hymn  should  be  mentioned  another  not 
unlike  it  in  spirit  and  history.  It  also  originated 
probably  in  the  second  century,  though,  if  we  give 
much  place  to  internal  evidence,  we  must  assign  to  it 
an  origin  somewhat  later  than  the  Tersanctus.  From 
the  earliest  times  these  have  been  associated  together, 
both  having  held  a  place  in  the  communion  service. 
We  refer  to  the  ^'Gloria  in  Excelsis,"^^^  a  longer 
hymn  than  the  Tersanctus  and  more  emotional ;  of 
wider  scope  and  more  burning  utterances,  "  with 
whose  ringing  accents  of  praise  mingles  the  miserere 
of  conscious  sin."  It  begins  among  the  angels, 
taking  up  the  strains  of  angelic  rapture  which  once 
it  was  permitted  to  mortal  ears  to  hear,  '^  Glory  to 
God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  good-will  to 
men  ;"  but  speedily  does  it  come  down  into  this  mor- 
tal  and   sinful   life,  taking  up  with   solemn   iteration 


158  STUDIES  IX  HYMXOLOGY. 

the  one  prayer  of  guilty  humanity,  "  Have  mercy 
upon  us/^  We  are  told  that  the  early  martyrs 
were  wont  to  sing  this  hymn  on  their  way  to  their 
death ;  and  yet,  like  the  blessed  Christ,  whose  nature 
and  offices  are  in  it  so  distinctly  reflected,  it  is  equally 
suited  to  all  who  dwell  in  this  mortal  body : 

"Glory  be  to  God  on  high,  and  on  earth  peace,  good-will 
to  men.  We  praisa  thee,  we  bless  thee,  we  glorify  thee,  we 
give  thanks  to  thee  for  thy  great  glory,  0  Lord  God,  heavenly 
King,  God  the  Father  Almighty!  0  Lord,  the  only  begotten 
Son,  Jesus  Christ;  0  Lord  God,  Lamb  of  God,  Son  of  the 
Father,  that  takest  away  the  sins  of  the  world,  have  mercy 
upon  us  I  Thou  that  takest  away  the  sins  of  the  world,  have 
mercy  upon  us!  Thou  that  takest  away  the  sins  of  the  world, 
receive  our  prayer.  Thou  that  sittest  at  the  right  hand  of  God 
the  Father,  have  mercy  upon  us!  For  thou  only  art  holy ; 
thou  only  art  the  Lord ;  thou  only,  0  Christ,  with  the  Holy 
Ghost,  art  most  high  in  the  glory  of  God  the  Father." 

There  is  still  another  hymn,  which  is,  in  many 
regards,  more  notable  than  either  of  those  already 
mentioned.  It  is  at  once  a  hymn  and  a  creed ;  or, 
rather,  as  Mrs.  Charles  beautifully  says,  '^  It  is  a 
creed  taking  wing  and  soaring  heavenward ;  it  is 
Faith  seized  with  a  sudden  joy  as  she  counts  her 
treasures,  and  laying  them  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  in  a 
song ;  it  is  the  incense  of  prayer  rising  so  near  the 
rainbow  round  about  the  throne  as  to  catch  its  light 
and  become  radiant  as  well  as  fragrant — a  cloud  of 
incense  illumined  into  a  cloud  of  glory."  ^V^e  refer 
to  the  ''  Te  Deum  Laudamus,"  ^^^  perhaps  the  grandest 
anthem  of  Christian  praise  ever  written.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  give  it  in  full  in  this  place,  for  scarcely 
anything  in  Christian  literature  is  more  familiar;  but 


HYMNS  OF  THE  ANCIENT  CHURCH.        159 

we  will  not  forego  the  satisfaction  of  transcribing  a 
few  of  its  grand  sentences — sentences  which  have 
been  heard  in  every  great  cathedral  in  the  world,  and 
wakened  the  echoes  of  every  clime  beneath  the  sun  : 

"  We  praise  thee,  0  God;  we  acknowledge  thee  to  be  the 
Lord.  All  the  earth  doth  worship  thee,  the  Father  everlast- 
ing. To  thee  all  angels  cry  aloud,  the  heavens  and  all  the 
powers  therein.  To  thee  cherubim  and  seraphim  continually 
do  cry,  Holy,  holy,  holy  Lord  God  of  Sabaoth !  Heaven  and 
earth  are  full  of  the  majesty  of  thy  glory.  The  glorious  com- 
pany of  the  apostles  praise  thee.  The  goodly  fellowship  of 
the  prophets  praise  thee.  The  noble  army  of  martyrs  praise 
thee.  The  holy  church  throughout  all  the  world  doth  ac- 
knowledge thee.  .  .  .  Day  by  day  we  magnify  thee;  and 
we  worship  thy  name  ever,  world  without  end." 

These  three  great  anonymous  hymns  of  the  early 
church  never  assumed  a  perfect  metrical  form,  but 
only  that  of  measured  prose,  in  this  regard  resem- 
bling the  songs  and  snatches  or  fragments  of  song 
which  are  found  in  the  New  Testament  itself.  But 
what  is  wanting  in  poetical  structure  is  more  than 
made  up  in  dignity,  simplicity,  and  universal  intelli- 
gibleness.  With  little  loss,  they  have  been  translated 
into  many  of  the  languages  into  which  the  Bible  it- 
self has  gone ;  and  everywhere  they  stand  to  express 
the  catholicity  of  Christianity  and  the  unity  of  be- 
lievers. They  belong  peculiarly  and  exclusively  to 
no  sect  or  section  of  the  church,  but  equally  to  the 
entire  church.  Neither  Churchman  nor  Romanist 
can  claim  exclusive  proprietorship  in  them,  but,  like 
the  Bible  itself,  of  which  they  are  so  evidently  the 
offspring,  they  belong  to  all  who  '^  profess  and  call 
themselves  Christians,"  of  every  tongue  and  clime. 


1 60  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOG  V. 

We  may  not  leave  these  earliest  Christian  hymns 
without  reflecting  upon  the  grand  and  sacred  mission 
they  have  fulfilled.  They  have  lifted  heavenward 
the  worship  of  countless  millions.  They  have  gone 
through  the  world  like  sweet-voiced  angels,  leading 
our  discordant  natures  into  harmony.  In  the  cathe- 
dral, the  humble  village  church,  the  cell  of  the  monk, 
the  palace  of  the  king,  the  tent  of  the  nomad ;  in  the 
catacombs,  by  the  martyr's  stake ;  beneath  arctic 
skies  and  torrid  suns;  in  Asia,  Africa,  Europe,  Amer- 
ica, the  islands  of  the  sea ;  wherever  the  angel  hav- 
ing the  everlasting  gospel  to  preach  has  gone^  there 
have  this  blessed  trio  gone  too.  And  in  the  supreme 
hour  of  mortal  life  they  have  been  uttered  by  the 
bedside  of  the  dying,  lifting  the  soul  into  heavenly 
rapture  even  from  the  depths  of  mortal  agony.  So 
is  it  that  men  are 

"  Learning  here,  by  faith  and  love, 
Songs  of  praise  to  sing  above." 

The  oldest  uninspired  Christian  hymn  which  can 
with  certainty  be  traced  to  its  author  was  written  by 
Clement  of  Alexandria,  who  died  not  later  than  220, 
A.  D.  Of  his  personal  history  we  know  compara- 
tively little;  but  as  to  his  intellectual  and  spiritual 
life  we  have  better  information.  He  represents  the 
famous  city  of  Alexandria,  which,  more  than  any 
other,  was  the  meeting-place  between  the  life  of  the 
East  and  the  West.  Here  was  originated  the  Hel- 
lenistic dialect  of  the  Greek  language,  which  has  for 
its  precious  contents  the  Septuagint  version  of  the 
Old   Testament,  the  writings  of  Philo  and  Josephus, 


HYMNS  OF  THE  ANCIENT  CHURCH.        161 

and  the  books  of  the  New  Testament.  One  of  his 
teachers  came  from  Ionia,  the  birthplace  of  the 
grandest  poem  in  all  literature  ;  another  from  Coele- 
Syria,  the  vigor  and  glory  of  whose  civilization  is 
to-day  most  eloquently  attested  by  the  wonderful 
ruins  at  Baalbec ;  another  still  came  from  Assyria,  a 
name  suggestive  of  all  that  is  venerable  in  antiquity 
and  illustrious  in  achievement ;  while  yet  another 
came  from  Italy,  but  originally  from  Egypt.  He 
became  familiar  with  Jewish  lore  at  the  school  of 
Tiberias,  and  he  learned  Christianity  from  Pantsenus, 
who  stood  at  the  head  of  the  Academy  in  Alexandria. 
When  Pantsenus  left  this  position  to  enter  upon  a 
mission  to  the  heathen  of  India  and  the  East,  Clement 
became  his  successor,  and  he,  in  turn,  was  succeeded 
by  his  own  disciple,  Origen,  the  most  eminent  and 
learned  of  all  the  Christian  fathers  of  the  third  cen- 
tury. It  is  probable  that  the  persecution  under  Sep- 
timius  Severus,  A.  D.  202,  compelled  Clement  to  flee 
from  Alexandria,  and  we  hear  of  him  about  ten  years 
later  visiting  Jerusalem,  and  from  thence  to  Antioch, 
commended  to  the  Antiochans  by  the  Bishop  of  Je- 
rusalem as  ^'a  virtuous  and  tried  man,  and  one  not 
altogether  unknown  to  them.^' 

Three  works  from  his  hand  have  been  preserved 
to  us :  '^  An  Exhortation  to  the  Heathen,"  "  The  In- 
structor," and  ^^Miscellanies."  The  object  of  the 
first  seems  to  have  been  to  convert  the  heathen,  and 
it  draws  a  vivid  and  powerful  contrast  between  the 
impurity,  the  grossness,  and  sordidness  of  heathenism 
and  the  pure  and  exalted  character  of  Christianity. 
The  second  was  intended  for  those  already  converted, 


162  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

and  consisted  mainly  of  rules  for  the  formation  and 
development  of  Christian  character  and  living  a 
Christian  life.  The  third  was  called  "Stromata/^  or 
"  Miscellanies/'  and  was  a  collection  of  speculative 
notes  bearing  upon  true  philosophy.  One  or  two 
extracts  from  these  works  will  serve  to  illustrate  the 
tone  of  Clement's  thought  and  the  spirit  of  the  times 
in  which  he  lived.  Speaking  of  marriage,  he  says : 
'*  What  a  union  is  that  between  two  believers,  having 
in  common  one  hope,  one  desire,  one  order  of  life, 
one  service  of  the  Lord  !  .  .  .  They  kneel,  pray, 
and  fast  together;  mutually  teach,  exhort,  and  bear 
with  each  other;  the  harmony  of  psalms  and  hymns 
goes  up  between  them,  and  each  vies  with  the  other 
in  singing  the  praise  of  their  God."  Again  he  says: 
"  Prayer,  if  I  may  speak  so  boldly,  is  intercourse 
with  God.  Although  we  do  but  lisp;  although  we 
address  God  without  opening  the  lips,  in  silence,  we 
cry  to  him  in  the  inward  recesses  of  the  heart ;  for 
when  the  whole  direction  of  the  inmost  soul  is  to 
him,  God  always  hears.''  He  draws  the  following 
picture  of  a  devout  Christian :  "  He  will  pray  in 
every  place,  but  not  openly  to  be  seen  of  men.  He 
prays  in  every  situation — in  his  walks  for  recreation, 
in  his  intercourse  with  others,  in  silence,  in  reading, 
in  all  rational  pursuits.  And  although  he  is  only 
thinking  on  God  in  the  little  chamber  of  the  soul,  and 
calling  upon  his  Father  with  silent  aspirations,  God  is 
near  him  and  with  him  while  he  is  yet  speaking." 

*  There  is  a  special  interest  connected  with  Clem- 
ent's hymn  as  being  the  earliest  versified  Christian 
hymn,  and  so  the   distinguished   leader  of  a   shining 


HYMNS  OF  THE  ANCIENT  CHURCH.        163 

host.  It  has  been  very  justly  described  as  "a  collec- 
tion of  images  interwoven  like  a  stained  window,  of 
which  the  eye  loses  the  design  in  the  complication  of 
colors,  upon  which  may  be  traced,  as  in  quaint  old 
letters  on  a  scroll,  winding  through  all  the  mosaic  of 
tints,  Christ  all  in  all/'  There  are  several  metrical 
versions  accessible  to  the  English  reader,  but  the 
strictly  literal  rendering  of  Mrs.  Charles  will  give  a 
more  just  idea  of  its  substance,  though  none  at  all  of 
its  poetic  structure  and  beauty  : 

"  Mouth  of  babes  who  can  not  speak, 
Wing  of  nestlings  who  can  not  fly, 
Sure  guide  of  babes, 
Shepherd  of  royal  sheep, 
Gather  thine  own  artless  children 
To  praise  in  holiness, 
To  sing  in  guilelessness, 
With  blameless  lips, 
Thee,  0  Christ!  Guide  of  childreo. 


Lead,  0  Shepherd 

Of  reasoning  sheep! 

Holy  One,  lead. 

King  of  speechless  children! 

The  footsteps  of  Christ 

Are  the  heavenly  way  ! 

Ever-flow^ing  word, 

Infinite  age. 

Perpetual  light^ 

Fountain  of  mercy. 

Worker  of  virtue. 

Holy  sustenance 

Of  those  who  praise  God,  Christ  Jesus,- 

The  heavenly  milk 

Of  the  sweet  breasts 

Of  the  bride  of  graces 

Pressed  out  of  thy  wisdom! 


164  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

These  babes 

With  tender  hps  nourished — 

By  the  dew  of  the  Spirit  replenished — 

Their  artless  praises, 

Their  true  hymns, 

O  Christ,  our  King! 

Sacred  rewards 

Of  the  doctrine  of  life, 

We  hymn  together ; 

We  hymn  in  simplicity, 

The  mighty  child. 

The  chorus  of  peace, 

The  kindred  of  Christ, 

The  race  of  the  temperate ; 

We  will  praise  together  the  God  of  peace."  ^^^ 

The  eminent  Biblical  scholar,  Rev.  E.  H.  Plump- 
tre,  has  made  an  excellent  metrical  version,  which 
may  be  helpful  in  bringing  us  face  to  face  with  the 
original.     We  transcribe  two  stanzas  : 

"Shepherd  of  sheep,  that  own 
Their  Master  on  the  throne, 
Stir  up  thy  children  meek 
With  guileless  lips  to  speak, 
In  hymn  and  soul,  thy  praise. 
0  King  of  saints,  O  Lord  ! 
Mighty,  all-conquering  Word; 
Son  of  the  highest  God, 
Wielding  his  wisdom's  rod ; 
Our  stay  when  cares  annoy, 
Giver  of  endless  joy ; 
Of  all ;  our  mortal  race, — 
Savior  of  boundless  grace, — 
O  Jesus,  hear! 


Lead  us,  0  Shepherd  true! 
Tliy  mystic  sheep,  we  sue. 
Lead  us,  0  holy  Lord, 
Who  from  thy  sons  dost  ward, 


HYMNS  OF  THE  ANCIENT  CHURCH.        165 

With  all-prevailing  charm, 

Peril  and  curse  and  harm ; 

O  path  where  Christ  hath  trod ; 

O  way,  that  leads  to  God ; 

O  word,  abiding  aye ; 

O  endless  light  on  high, 

Mercy's  fresh-springing  flood, 

Worker  of  all  things  good  ; 

O  glorious  life  of  all 

That  on  their  Master  call, — 

Clirist  Jesus,  hear." 

But  that  version  of  the  hymn  which  is  most  dis- 
tinctly lyrical  in  its  character,  though  it  departs  very 
widely  from  the  archaic  simplicity  of  the  original,  is 
the  one  commencing 

Shepherd  of  tender  youth. 

It  was  made  by  the  Rev.  H.  M.  Dexter,  D.  D., 
editor  of  The  Congregationalist  newspaper,  published 
in  Boston.  This  version  is  now  very  widely  used, 
and  is  met  with  in  most  of  the  leading  hymnalsboth 
of  America  and  Great  Britain.  It  is  of  special  in- 
terest and  significance  that  this  oldest  of  our  versi- 
fied hymns  is  so  full  of  Christ,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
so  clear  in  its  recognition  of  his  relation  to  children. 
May  the  singing  of  it  by  the  churches  in  this  latter 
day  bring  us  into  more  perfect  sympathy  with  that 
Savior  who  pronounced  upon  childhood  the  benedic- 
tion which  carries  in  its  bosom  all  blessed  possibil- 
ities :  "  Of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  God  V^ 

But  the  most  conspicuous  figure  in  ancient  hym- 
nody  is  that  of  Ambrose,  the  famous  bishop  of 
Milan  and  pastor  of  Monica,  the  mother  of  Augus- 
tine.    He  was  a  man  of  unusual  breadth  and  energy 


166  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOG  Y. 

of  character,  and  it  was  given  him  to  achieve  a  re- 
markable history.  The  son  of  a  prominent  civil  offi- 
cer, he  was  himself  governor  of  the  province  of 
Milan,  and  as  such  was  present  to  keep  the  peace  in 
a  large  popular  assembly  convened  to  consider  the 
matter  of  electing  a  bishop,  when,  by  the  voice  of  a 
child,  he  was  himself  designated  for  the  office.  After 
what  was  doubtless  a  sincere  but  ineffectual  attempt 
to  resist  the  will  of  the  people  in  this  regard,  he  was 
baptized,  distributed  his  property  to  the  poor,  and 
eight  days  after  was  inducted  into  the  episcopal  office. 
He  performed  the  duties  of  this  high  office  with  zeal 
truly  apostolic,  asserting,  as  no  man  had  ever  done 
before  him,  the  loving  intolerance  of  Christianity  as 
against  heathen  religions.  Over  more  than  one  em- 
peror he  exerted  a  strong,  if  not  absolutely  command- 
ing, influence.  Theodosius  the  Great  venerated  him 
as  father,  and  openly  declared  that  he  was  the  only 
bishop  worthy  of  the  title.  When,  in  a  fit  of  pas- 
sion, this  same  Theodosius  inflicted  terrible  cruelties 
upon  the  rebellious  Thessalonians,  Ambrose  refused 
to  admit  tim  to  the  altar  until  he  had  done  public 
penance. 

A  special  interest  attaches  to  Ambrose  because  of 
his  connection  with  the  personal  history  of  the  distin- 
guished Augustine,  one  of  the  greatest  men  of  his 
time  or  of  any  time.  For  thirteen  years  had  Monica 
carried  on  her  heart  the  great  burden  of  a  wayward 
son,  waiting  upon  God  in  faith  and  prayer,  and  min- 
istering to  him  with  maternal  patience  and  tenderness. 
The  stubbornness  and  rebellion  of  the  young  man 
seemed  to  mock  all  her  hopes,  and  she  sought  refuge 


HYMNS  OF  THE  ANCIENT  CHURCH.        167 

and  strength  in  the  sympathy  of  the  good  Ambrose. 
With  bitter  weeping,  she  poured  her  solicitude  and 
sorrow  into  his  ear.  ^'  Wait/'  said  the  man  of  God, 
"  wait  patiently ;  the  child  of  these  tears  can  not  per- 
ish." The  event  justified  the  prophecy;  for  before 
Monica's  star  went  down  the  sun  of  Augustine  rose. 

Of  all  the  men  of  the  ancient  church,  the  impress 
of  Ambrose  upon  her  hymnody  is  deepest.  Though 
the  tradition  which  connects  his  name  with  the  *^  Te 
Deum  Laudamus'^  is  not  to  be  trusted,  yet  to  him 
must  be  accorded  the  higher  honor  of  having  intro- 
duced the  singing  of  psalms,  and  especially  antiphonal 
and  responsive  singing,  in  the  Western  church.  There 
are  about  a  dozen  hymns  extant  which  the  Benedic- 
tine editors  ascribe  to  Ambrose,  besides  a  very  con- 
siderable number  of  the  same  general  character  which 
are  designated  Ambrosian.  They  are  all  remarkable 
for  dignity  and  simplicity,  both  in  style  and  struc- 
ture, and  the  permanence  of  their  life  and  wide  ex- 
tent of  their  influence  would  seem  to  indicate  that  a 
hymn  "  when  unadorned  is  adorned  the  most.''  Born 
in  the  midst  of  theologic  strife,  these  hymns  have 
served  not  only  as  instruments  of  devotion,  but  as 
weapons  against  heresy,  and  for  fifteen  hundred  years 
have  been  counted  among  the  choice  treasures  of 
Christian  literature.  Among  the  best  of  these  hymns 
of  Ambrose,  in  their  most  approved  English  transla- 
tions, are : 

Now  doth  the  sun  ascend  the  sky, 

translated  from  the  Latin  original,  which  Daniel  calls 
Ambrosian,  by  the  Rev.  Edward  Caswall ;  this 
hymn  was  chanted  by  the  priesthood,  in  full  choir,  at 


168  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

the  death-bed  of  William,  the  Conqueror,  in  A.  D. 
1087. 

The  morning  kindles  all  the  sky, 

translated  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Charles,  the  gifted  author 
of  the  ^^  Schonberg  Cotta  Family."  Another  version, 
by  Rev.  Dr.  A.  R.  Thompson,  begins : 

The  morning  purples  all  the  sky.  ^6) 

0  Lord,  most  high,  Eternal  King. 
The  Lord  on  high  ascends. 
O  mighty  joy  to  all  our  race. 
O  Jesu,  Lord  of  light  and  grace. 
Ere  the  waning  light  decay. 
O  God  of  truth,  0  Lord  of  Might. 
O  God  of  all,  the  strength  and  power. 
Now  that  the  daylight  fills  the  sky. 
0  Trinity,  most  blessed  light. 
Redeemer  of  the  nations,  come. '^'') 
Come,  Holy  Ghost,  who  ever  one. 
Creator  of  the  stars  of  night. 
Above  the  starry  spheres. 

It  is  difficult  for  us  fully  to  appreciate  the  mission 
and  influence  of  these  ancient  hymns.  They  served 
not  only  as  channels  of  devotion,  but  as  witnesses  for 
the  truth  and  as  safeguards  against  error.  The  testi- 
mony which  Augustine  himself  gives  as  to  the  influ- 
ence of  the  church-music  on  his  heart,  may  well  be 
taken   as  truthfully  illustrative  of  the   value  of   this 


HYMNS  OF  THE  ANCIENT  CHURCH.         169 

feature  of  public  religious  service.  ^'  The  hymns  and 
songs  of  thy  church  moved  my  soul  intensely.  Thy 
truth  was  distilled  by  them  into  my  heart.  The 
flame  of  piety  was  kindled,  and  my  tears  flowed  for 
JQy  ??  (8)  Xhis  practice  of  singing  had  been  of  no 
long  standing  at  Milan.  It  began  about  the  year 
when  Justina  persecuted  Ambrose  (A.  D.  386).  The 
pious  people  watched  in  the  church,  prepared  to  die 
with  their  pastor.  Augustine's  mother  sustained  an 
eminent  part  in  watching  and  praying.  Then  hymns 
and  psalms,  after  the  manner  of  the  East,  were  sung 
with  a  view  of  preserving  the  people  from  weariness; 
and  thence  the  custom  spread  through  the  Christian 
churches.  ^^^ 


170  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 


CHAPTER  III. 

EARLIER   MEDIEVAL   HYMNS. 

FROM  the  testimony  of  Augustine,  quoted  at  the 
close  of  the  preceding  chapter,  we  are  led  \o  un- 
derstand that  hymns  and  music  were  all  the  time 
coming  into  greater  prominence  in  the  services  of  the 
church.  As  was  therefore  to  be  expected,  the  num- 
ber of  hymns  representing  the  medieval  period  of 
Christian  history,  which,  in  round  numbers,  may  be 
taken  as  extending  from  the  close  of  the  fifth  century 
to  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  (500-1500),  is  many  times 
greater  than  those  representing  the  ancient  church. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century  it  is  doubtful 
if  there  were  in  all  one  hundred  Christian  hymns  in 
addition  to  the  Jewish  Psalms,  which  were  then, 
doubtless,  widely  used.  When  Luther  arose,  it  is  es- 
timated that  there  were  at  least  one  thousand.  As 
compared  with  those  of  the  ancient  church,  medieval 
hymns  are  less  extensive  but  more  intensive.  They 
comprehend  less  but  express  more,  and  so  are  more 
likely  to  be  used  with  loving  interest.  As  was  to  be 
expected,  the  development  of  church-life  continually 
tended  to  more  elaborate  and  impressive  ceremonial, 
and  hence  church-music  seems  to  have  undergone  a 
process  of  rapid  development.  Hymns  began  to  ap- 
pear in  greater  numbers,  and  were  appropriated  to  a 


EARLIER  MEDIEVAL  HYMNS.  171 

greater  variety  of  ecclesiastical  uses.  But  they  came 
very  widely  to  be  regarded  as  intended  mainly  for 
public  service,  the  exclusive  property  of  the  church 
and  choir.  Hence,  instead  of  simple  lyrical  effusions, 
as  were  many  of  the  Jewish  psalms,  suited  to  the  in- 
dividual, the  family,  and  childhood,  we  recognize  a 
tendency  to  make  the  hymn  a  stately  and  formal 
matter,  fitted  to  hold  a  place  in  grand  and  impressive 
church  ceremonials.  In  the  earlier  part  of  this  me- 
dieval period  we  find  the  hymns  clustering  about  the 
person  and  offices  of  Jesus  Christ  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  but  in  the  latter  part  of  this  period  some  of 
the  most  famous — such,  for  instance,  as  the  "  Celes- 
tial Country''  and  the  "Dies  Irse ''— look  forward 
to  the  second  advent  and  the  future  life,  though 
others  w^ere  devoted  to  the  praise  of  saints  and  the 
celebration  of  relics.  But  in  all  this  period,  as  well 
as  in  the  preceding,  the  hymns  which  have  become 
universal  and  permanent  are  those  which  express,  in 
directest  and  simplest  manner,  the  deep  aspirations  of 
the  devout  heart  for  salvation  and  life  through  the 
offices  of  the  Savior  and  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Bernard's  ''O  sacred  head,  now  wounded," 
Gregory's  "Veni,  Creator  Spiritus,"  King  Robert's 
"Yeni,  Sancte  Spiritus,"  and  the  "  Veni,  Redemptor 
Gentium,"  of  Ambrose,  are  illustrations  in  point. 

The  earliest  of  these  medieval  hymns  which  have 
come  to  a  wide  celebrity  were  written  by  Venantius 
Fortunatus,  an  Italian  gentleman,  scholar,  priest,  and 
finally  bishop,  who  was  born  about  A.  D.  530,  and 
died  A.  D.  609.  As  in  many  other  instances,  these 
songs  are  more  famous  than  the  singer.     Indeed  it  is 


172  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

not  probable  that  his  name  would  have  come  down 
to  these  later  Christian  centuries  had  it  not  been 
made  illustrious  by  his  justly  celebrated  hymns. 
That  hymn  of  his,  called  from  its  opening  words 
"  Vexilla  Regis  Prodeunt/'  has  been  pronounced  by 
Dr.  John  Mason  Neale  ^^  one  of  the  grandest  in  the 
treasury  of  the  Latin  church."  It  was  composed  to 
celebrate  the  reception  of  certain  relics  by  his  pa- 
troness and  friend,  Queen  Radegund,  and  Gregory, 
Bishop  of  Tours,  previous  to  the  consecration  of  the 
church  at  Poictiers.  It  came  at  once  to  be  used  as 
a  processional  hymn,  and,  from  the  character  of  the 
theme,  in  those  services  of  the  church  devoted  to  the 
memory  of  our  Savior's  passion  and  death. ^'^  Sev- 
eral English  versions  of  this  hymn  have  been  made, 
among  the  best  of  which  is  one  by  Rev.  John 
Chandler : 

The  royal  banner  is  unfurled ; 

and  one  by  Dr.  John  Mason  Neale: 

The  royal  banners  forward  go. 

Of  these,  the  first  is  best  suited  for  general  use  as  a 
hymn,  though  the  second  represents  the  original  more 
faithfully  and  vividly.  We  transcribe  some  verses  of 
the  latter : 

"The  royal  banners  forward  go, 
The  cross  shines  forth  in  mystic  glow 
Where  he  in  flesh,  our  flesh  who  made, 
Our  sentence  bore,  our  ransom  paid, — 

Where  deep  for  us  the  spear  was  dyed, 
Life's  torrent  gushing  from  his  side. 
To  wash  us  in  that  precious  flood 
Where  mingled  water  flowed,  and  blood. 


EARLIER  MEDIEVAL  HYMNS.  173 

Fulfilled  is  all  that  David  told 

In  true  prophetic  song  of  old ; 

Amid  the  nations  God,  saith  he, 

Hath  reigned  and  triumphed  from  the  tree. 

O  tree  of  beauty !  tree  of  light ! 
O  tree  with  royal  purple  dight! 
Elect,  on  whose  triumphal  breast 
Those  holy  limbs  should  find  their  rest ; 

On  whose  dear  arms,  so  widely  flung, 
The  weight  of  this  world's  ransom  hung, 
The  price  of  human  kind  to  pay. 
And  spoil  the  spoiler  of  his  prey." 

The  last  line  of  the  third  verse,  ''  Hath  reigned  and 
triumphed  from  the  tree/'  is  an  allusion  to  the  tenth 
verse  of  the  ninety-sixth  Psalm,  which,  in  the  old 
Italic  version,  reads,  '''  Tell  it  out  among  the  heathen 
that  the  Lord  reigneth  from  the  tree.'' 

It  seems  extraordinary  that  from  an  occasion  cre- 
ated by  the  errors  and  superstition  of  the  church  a 
product  so  pure  and  spiritual  as  this  hymn  should 
have  arisen.  It  may  be  that  through  this,  as  through 
a  loop-hole,  we  look  into  the  real  character  of  the 
great  Romish  church  of  this  time,  and  see  that,  along 
with  its  idolatries  and  corruptions,  moves  the  current 
of  a  divine  life. 

There  is  another  hymn  of  Fortunatus — '^  Salve 
Festa  Dies" — some  of  the  associations  of  which  are 
still  more  notable.  It  Avas  the  most  widely  used  of 
all  the  processional  hymns  during  the  Middle  Ages. 
It  was  sung  by  Jerome  of  Prague  in  the  midst  of  his 
dying  agonies.  Cranmer  translated  it  into  English, 
and  wrote  a  letter  to  King  Henry  the  Eighth  request- 


1 74  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOL OGY. 

ing  its  formal  authorization  for  use  in  the  churches, 
together  with  other  similar  hymns  and  litanies.  This 
translation  of  Cranmer  has  been  lost,  but  the  letter 
is  still  preserved  among  the  state  papers  of  Great 
Britain.  Several  English  versions  of  this  hymn  have 
been  made,  one  of  the  best  of  which  is  that  com- 
mencing 

Welcome  happy  morning!  age  to  age  shall  say/2; 

Contemporary  with  Fortunatus  was  Gregory  the 
Great,  born  of  a  noble  family  in  Rome  about  550, 
and  dying  604 — a  man  equaled  by  no  other  of  his 
time  and  by  very  few  of  any  time.  Whether  we 
consider  his  relations  as  a  man,  his  devotedness  and 
self-sacrifice  as  a  Christian,  his  depth  and  clearness  as 
a  theologian,  or  his  grand  ability  as  a  bishop,  we  find 
him  worthily  exercising  a  strong  and  commanding 
influence.  Though  not  altogether  free  from  the 
errors  of  his  time,  yet  he  must  be  accorded  the  credit 
of  having  done  more  than  almost  any  other  man  in 
giving  unity,  vigor,  and  power  to  the  Western  church. 
A  monument  of  his  relation  to  church-music  is  the 
Gregorian  chant,  which  places  him  not  by  the  side 
of  Ambrose  in  this  regard,  but  clearly  above  him. 
This  was  intended  for  the  choir  and  the  people  to  sing 
in  unison.  It  is  one  of  the  many  interesting  facts 
connecting  the  name  of  Gregory  with  Great  Britain 
that  the  first  attempt  to  introduce  this  chant  into  the 
churches  resulted  in  a  tumult  in  which  many  lives 
were  lost. 

On  his  accession  to  the  episcopacy  he  directed  his 
earnest   attention   to   elevating   the    character   of  the 


EARLIER  MEDIEVAL  HYMNS.  175 

clergy  and  improving  the  services  of  the  church.  He 
complains  that  the  bishops  of  his  time  neglected  too 
much  the  business  of  preaching  for  outward  aifairs, 
and  confesses  that  in  this  he  accuses  himself;  for,  in 
spite  of  his  own  wishes,  he  had  been  compelled  by  the 
exigencies  of  the  times  to  immerse  himself  in  these 
external  aifairs.  That  his  clergy  might  be  suitably 
impressed  with  the  dignity  and  sacredness  of  their 
office,  he  drew  up  for  their  use  a  "  pastoral  rule,"  in 
which  he  endeavored  to  show  in  what  temper  of  mind 
the  spiritual  shepherd  should  come  to  his  office,  how 
he  should  live  in  it,  how  he  should  carefully  adapt 
his  methods  to  the  end  to  be  reached,  and  how  guard 
against  self-exaltation  as  he  contemplates  the  happy 
results  of  his  labors.  On  preaching  he  says :  '^  Words 
that  coipe  from  a  cold  heart  can  never  light  up  the 
fervor  of  heavenly  desires ;  for  that  which  burns  not 
itself  can  kindle  nothing  else." 

As  intimated  above,  there  are  many  links  of  in- 
terest binding  the  name  of  Gregory  to  the  English 
church  and  people.  Having  one  day  gone  into  the 
slave-market,  his  interest  was  excited  at  the  sight  of 
some  Anglo-Saxon  youths  exposed  for  sale  there.  He 
inquired  who  they  were,  and  being  told  that  they 
were  "  Angli,"  he  is  related  to  have  said,  "  Si  Chris- 
tiani  sint,  non  Angli  essent  sed  angeli  forent."  '^If 
they  were  Christians,  they  would  not  be  Angles  but 
angels.^^  He  at  once  purchased  some  of  them,  and  had 
them  educated  for  missionary  work  among  their  coun- 
trymen. Some  time  later,  when  the  way  was  more 
fully  opened  by  the  espousal  of  a  Frankish  princess 
to   Ethelbert   of    Kent,    he    sent   the    Koman    abbot 


176  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

Augustine,  with  forty  monks,  on  a  mission  to  this  land, 
and  on  the  Pentecost  of  the  following  year  the  king 
and  ten  thousand  of  his  subjects  were  baptized.  An- 
other of  the  most  interesting  associations  of  Gregory 
with  English-speaking  peoples  is  through  the  great 
hymn  which  is  prevailingly  ascribed  to  him,  ^^  Veni, 
Creator  Spiritus.'^  By  many  this  hymn  has  been  at- 
tributed to  Charlemagne,  but  by  most,  and  with 
better  reason,  to  Gregory /^^  No  other  hymn  has  had 
more  honorable  recognition  in  the  services  of  both 
the  Catholic  and  Protestant  divisions  of  the  church. 
It  has  been  used  at  the  coronation  of  kings,  the  cre- 
ation of  popes,  the  consecration  of  bishops,  the  open- 
ing of  synods  and  conferences,  and  the  ordination  of 
ministers.  After  the  Reformation  it  was  one  of  the 
first  hymns  translated  into  both  German  and  English, 
and  has  doubtless  in  these  versions  come  to  its  best 
and  most  spiritual  uses.  Bishop  Cosines  English  ver- 
sion was  introduced  into  "The  Book  of  Common 
Prayer"  in  1662,  and  later  into  the  Methodist  Disci- 
pline, the  ordinal  of  which  was  taken  substantially 
from  the  English  prayer-book.  At  no  point  in  the 
services  of  either  the  Episcopal  or  Methodist  church 
is  the  effect  more  impressive  than  when,  after  the 
solemn  hush  of  silent  prayer,  the  bishop  and  clergy 
take  up  responsively, 

"  Come,  Holy  Ghost,  our  souls  inspire, 
And  lighten  with  celestial  fire,'"  etc. 

On  account  of  a  slight  irregularity  in  the  meter  of 
the  last  two  lines  this  version  of  Bishop  Cosin  is  not 
found  in  many  of  the  hymn-books,  though  it  has  very 


EARLIER  MEDIEVAL  HYMNS.  177 

properly  been  given  a  place  in  the  Methodist  hymnal. 
Many  other  versions  of  this  hymn  into  English  have 
been  made,  most  of  them  within  the  last  half  century. 
One  of  the  best  is  that  commencing 

O  come,  Creator,  Spirit  blest! 

Still  another  hymn  of  Gregory,  translated  by  Ray 
Palmer,  is  found  in  recent  collections: 

O  Christ,  our  King,  Creator,  Lord! 

With  Gregory \s  ^'  Veni,  Creator  Spiritus,''  should 
be  associated  one  of  somewhat  later  date,  but  almost 
equally  notable  in  character  and  history;  namely,  the 
^^Veni,  Sancte  Spiritus,"  which  has  been  pronounced 
by  an  eminent  authority  "  the  loveliest  of  all  the 
hymns  in  the  whole  circle  of  Latin  poetry."  Its 
author  was  Robert  II,  king  of  France,  who  was  born 
972,  came  to  the  throne  997,  and  died  in  1031.  We 
know  little  of  his  life ;  but  it  has  been  well  said  that 
if  we  knew  nothing,  the  hymn  itself  gives  evidence 
of  having  been  composed  by  one  "acquainted  with 
many  sorrows  and  also  with  many  consolations."  Of 
the  former,  the  history  of  the  troublous  times  in 
which  the  king  lived  is  sufficient  proof;  of  the  lat- 
ter, the  hymn  is  sweetly  expressive.  The  king  Avas  a 
great  lover  of  music,  and  used  sometimes  to  go  to 
the  church  of  St.  Denis  and  take  direction  of  the 
choir  at  matins  and  vespers,  and  sing  with  the  monks. 
It  is  said  by  Dean  Trench  that  some  of  his  musical 
as  well  as  hymnic  compositions  still  hold  their  place 
in  the  services  of  the  Catholic  church.  The  extraor- 
dinary perfection  of  the  hymn  "  Veni,  Sancte  Spir- 
itus,"  has  made  it  exceedingly  difficult  to  produce  a 


178  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

satisfactory  version.     For   this   reason  we  give  it  in 
full  as  it  came  from  the  pen  of  its  royal  author  : 

"  Yeni,  sancte  spiritus, 
Et  emitte  coelitus 
Liicis  tuae  radium. 

Veni,  pater  pauper  am, 
Veni,  dator  munerum, 
Veni,  lumen  cordium. 

Consolator  optime, 
Dulcis  hospes  animse, 
Dulce  refrigerium. 

In  labore  requies, 
In  ?estu  temperies. 
In  fletu  solatium. 

0  lux  beatissima, 
Re  pie  cordis  intima 
Tuorum  fidelium. 

Sine  tuo  numine 
Nihil  est  in  homine, 
Nihil  est  innoxium. 

Lava  quod  est  sordium, 
Riga  quod  est  aridum, 
Sana  quod  est  saucium. 

Flecte  quod  est  rigidum, 
Fove  quod  est  frigidum, 
Rege  quod  est  devium. 

Da  tuis  fidelibus 
In  te  confidentibus 
Sacra  septenarium. 

Da  virtutis  raeritum, 
Da  salutis  exitum, 
Da  perenne  gaudium." 


EARLIER  MEDIEVAL  HYMNS.  179 

Of  the  many  excellent  versions  of  this  precious 
hymn,  that  of  Ray  Palmer  is  one  of  the  best  and 
most  musical,  though  it  cleparts  from  the  very  simple 
measure  of  the  original  : 

Come,  Holy  Ghost,  in  love.''*) 
Two  hymnists  of  lesser  note  stand  about  mid- 
way between  Gregory  the  Great  and  King  Robert ; 
namely,  Andrew  of  Crete,  who  was  born  about  660 
and  died  in  732,  and  John  of  Damascus,  who  died 
about  a  half  century  later.  Both  were  born  in  that 
oldest  of  cities  Damascus,  which,  from  the  time  of 
Abraham,  has  stood  forth,  always  with  distinctness 
and  sometimes  with  commanding  influence,  in  the 
history  of  the  world.  The  former,  in  his  later  years, 
was  Archbishop  of  Crete.  He  participated  in  the 
monothelite  controversy,  which  even  then  agitated 
the  church  in  some  localities,  at  first  giving  his  influ- 
ence in  favor  of  this  heresy,  but  afterward  strongly 
against  it.  One  of  the  best  known  of  the  hymns 
from  his  pen,  which  are  still  retained  by  the  churches, 
is  that  commencing 

Christian,  dost  thou  see  them?'"^^ 
The  original  was  written  for  use  in  the  second  week 
of  the  great  fast  of  Lent,  and  this  fact  is  very  clearly 
reflected  in  the  hymn  itself.  The  translation  is  by 
Dr.  Neale.  One  other  hymn  of  similar  character, 
from  this  same  author,  has  found  a  place  in  some 
modern  hymn-books  : 

O  the  mj'stery  passing  wonder. 
More  interest  attaches  to  the  personal  history  of 
John  of  Damascus,  as  he  is  also   more  eminent  as  a 


180  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

hymn-writer.  Born  at  Damascus,  he  was  for  some 
years  a  priest  in  Jerusalem,  where  he  also  held  an 
important  civil  office  under' the  caliph.  He  was  an 
accomplished  scholar,  and  entered  into  the  theolog- 
ical controversies  of  his  time  with  great  zeal  and  elo- 
quence. But,  as  many  another  has  done,  he  held 
"  the  unsheathed  sword  of  controversy  until  its  glit- 
tering point  drew  down  the  lightning.^'  He  retired 
from  the  lists,  and  spent  the  last  years  of  his  life  in 
literary  and  religious  exercises  in  a  convent  between 
Jerusalem  and  the  Dead  Sea.  He  has  been  called 
the  greatest  poet  among  the  Greek  fathers,  as  he  is 
also  the  last.  His  best  known  hymn, 
The  day  of  resurrection,' 6) 

was  written  as  a  hymn  of  victory,  and  was  ^^  sung  at 
the  first  hour  of  Easter  morning,  when,  amid  gen- 
eral exultation,  the  people  were  shouting,  ^Christ  is 
risen.' ^'  Its  intrinsic  excellence  is  only  equaled  by 
its  appropriateness  to  the  soul-stirring  occasion.  '^  Of 
the  many  hymns  of  the  church  which  celebrate  the 
resurrection,  perhaps  no  other  one  in  common  use 
was  written  so  near  the  very  spot  where  this  crown- 
ing miracle  of  our  holy  religion  actually  occurred." 

St.  Joseph  of  the  Studium,  born  in  the  Island 
of  Sicily  808,  and  dying  883,  is  represented  in  our 
modern  collections  by  several  hymns;  such,  for  in- 
stance, as 

Stars  of  the  morning,  so  gloriously  bright. 

Let  our  choir  new  anthems  raise. 

And  wilt  thou  pardon,  Lord  ? 

Safe  home,  safe  home  in  port. 


EARLIER  MEDIEVAL  HYMNS.  181 

The  most  popular  of  his  hymns,  however,  is  the 
one  commencing 

O  happy  band  of  pilgrims. 

The  version  is  by  Dr.  Neale,  and  is  a  general  favor- 
ite— a  bright  and  joyous  Christian  hymn.  Joseph 
was  early  driven  from  his  native  island  to  Thessa- 
lonica,  where  he  was  first  a  monk  and  ultimately  an 
archbishop ;  but,  in  consequence  of  the  fierce  icono- 
clastic persecution,  was  obliged  to  betake  himself  to 
the  covert  of  the  Western  church.  Later  he  was 
taken  by  pirates,  and  enslaved  in  the  island  of  Crete ; 
but  it  is  said  of  him  that  he  '^  made  use  of  his  cap- 
tivity to  bring  his  captors  in  subjection  to  the  faith." 
Afterward  he  betook  himself  to  Rome,  from  which 
place  he  went  into  exile  with  his  friend  Photius. 
Recalled  from  this,  he  devoted  himself  to  literary 
pursuits,  and  wrote  many  hymns,  most  of  which,  how- 
ever, being  in  praise  of  saints,  are  little  known. 

In  this  general  period  of  Christian  history  lived 
that  man  who  may  rightly  be  designated  the  illustrious 
leader  of  the  most  of  hymn-writers  in  our  own  lan- 
guage— the  Venerable  Bede.  Few  men  of  this  period 
stand  so  fully  commended  to  our  attention  and  our 
admiration.  Noble  in  character,  profound  in  schol- 
arship, unwearied  in  labors,  wise  and  zealous  in  his 
devotion  to  the  church,  he  was  a  man  to  be  both  re- 
vered and  loved.  Not  easily  can  England  estimate 
her  debt  of  obligation  to  such  as  he,  who  laid  so  care- 
fully and  wisely  the  broad  foundations  of  Biblical 
culture  upon  which  the  church,  in  the  later  centuries, 
has  so   successfully   built.     Few  pictures  of  that  dis- 


182  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

tant  time  are  so  significant  and  so  suggestive  of  what 
was  vital  in  the  work  of  the  church  of  that  period 
as  that  of  the  closing  scene  in  the  life  of  this  eminent 
man.  The  history  of  this  quiet  and  sublime  death- 
scene  is  by  no  means  an  unfamiliar  one ;  and  it  is  of 
special  interest  because  it  furnishes  a  setting  for  the 
oldest  uninspired  words  of  praise  in  any  language 
which  have  been  crystallized  into  permanent  form — 
the  Gloria  Patri.  The  venerable  scholar  and  monk 
had  been  ill  for  several  weeks,  but  not  so  as  to  inter- 
rupt his  work  of  translation,  on  which  he  had  become 
so  intent.  About  Easter,  735,  he  saw  that  his  end 
was  approaching,  and  looked  forward  to  it  with  cease- 
less gratitude,  rejoicing  that  he  was  accounted  worthy 
thus  to  suffer.  He  quoted  much  from  Holy  Scripture 
and  from  Saxon  hymns,  but  kept  himself  busy  with 
his  translation  of  the  Gospel  of  John.  Ascension- 
day  drew  near,  and  his  illness  had  greatly  increased, 
but  he  only  labored  the  more  diligently.  On  Wednes- 
day his  scribe  said:  ^^One  chapter  remains,  but  I 
fear  it  must  be  painful  for  you  to  dictate.'^  *'  It  is 
easy,"  replied  Bede.  '''  Take  your  pen  and  write 
quickly.''  The  work  was  continued  for  some  time, 
but  again  interrupted.  Bede  directed  his  servant  to 
fetch  his  little  treasures  from  his  casket — his  pepper, 
kerchiefs,  and  incense — that  he  might  distribute  them 
among  his  friends.  He  passed  the  remainder  of  the 
day  in  holy  and  cheerful  conversation.  His  boy 
scribe,  with  pious  importunity,  again  reminded  him 
of  his  unfinished  task.  "One  sentence,  dear  master, 
still  remains  unwritten."  "Write  quickly,"  he  an- 
swered.    The  boy  wrote  and  said  :  "  It  is  completed 


EARLIER  MEDIEVAL  HYMNS.  183 

Well/'  Bede  rejilied,  "thou  hast  said  the 
truth.  All  is  ended.  Take  my  head  in  thy  hands. 
I  would  sit  in  the  holy  place  where  I  was  wont  to 
pray,  that,  so  sitting,  I  may  call  upon  my  Father.'^ 
Thereupon,  resting  upon  the  floor  of  his  cell,  he 
chanted  the  Gloria  Patri — "Glory  be  to  the  Father, 
and  to  the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost" — and  while 
the  name  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was  on  his  lips  he 
passed  away. 

If  not  conspicuous  in  the  realm  of  sacred  song, 
yet  certainly  the  Venerable  Bede  is  deserving  of  hon- 
orable mention.  Among  his  works  were  a  "  Book  on 
the  Art  of  Poetry ''  and  "  A  Book  of  Hymns  in  Sev- 
eral sorts  of  Metre  and  Rhyme."  It  is  said  of  him 
that  he  took  great  delight  in  the  singing  of  hymns, 
and  in  his  last  sickness,  when  his  asthma  prevented 
his  sleeping,  he  was  wont  to  solace  himself  in  this 
way.  Among  the  hymns  for  which  the  modern 
church  is  indebted  to  Bede  are: 

The  great  forerunner  of  the  morn. 

A  hymn  of  glory  let  us  sing. 

A  hymn  for  martyrs  sweetly  sing. 

This  last  is  perhaps  the  best  known.  It  was  inserted 
in  the  earlier  editions  of  the  "Hymns  Ancient  and 
Modern,"  the  version  being  changed  from  that  of  Dr. 
Neale.  The  original  has  stanzas  of  eight  lines,  each 
of  which  begins  and  ends  with  the  same  line.  To 
illustrate,  we  transcribe  two  stanzas: 

''Fear  not,  O  little  flock  and  blest, 
The  lion  that  your  life  oppressed  ; 
To  heavenly  pastures  ever  new 
The  heavenly  Shepherd  leadeth  you ; 


184  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOG  Y. 

Who,  dwelling  now  on  Zion's  hill, 
The  Lamb's  dear  footsteps  follow  still; 
By  tyrant  there  no  more  distressed, 
Fear  not,  0  little  flock  and  blest. 


And  every  tear  is  wiped  aw^ay 

By  your  dear  Father's  hand  for  aye ; 

Death  hath  no  power  to  hurt  you  more 

Whose  own  is  life's  eternal  shore. 

Who  sow  their  seed,  and  sowing  weep, 

In  everlasting  joy  shall  reap, 

What  time  thej'^  shine  in  heavenly  day, 

And  every  tear  is  wiped  aw'ay." 

Another  of  these  hymns  shows  still  more  power 
of  lyrical  expression,  and  is  not  unsuited  for  use  in 
the  congregations: 

"A  hymn  of  glory  let  us  sing: 
New  hymns  throughout  the  world  shall  ring; 
By  a  new  w^ay  none  ever  trod 
Christ  mounted  to  the  throne  of  God. 

The  apostles  on  the  mountain  stand, 
The  mystic  mount  in  holy  land ; 
They,  with  the  virgin  mother,  see 
Jesus  ascend  in  majesty. 

The  angels  say  to  the  eleven. 
Why  stand  ye  gazing  into  heaven? 
This  is  the  Savior,  this  is  he ; 
Jesus  hath  triumphed  gloriously. 

They  said  the  Lord  should  come  again. 
As  these  beheld  him  rising  then, 
Calm,  soaring  through  the  radiant  sky, 
Mounting  its  dazzling  summits  high. 

May  our  affections  thither  tend. 
And  thither  constantly  ascend. 
Where,  seated  on  the  Father's  throne. 
Thee,  reigning  in  the  heavens,  we  own!" 


LATER  MEDIEVAL  HYMNS.  185 


CHAPTER  IV. 

LATER   MEDIEVAL    HYMNS. 

IN  a  desolate  region  near  the  River  Seine,  in  the 
north-easterly  part  of  France,  is  a  wild  valley  in- 
closed by  mountains,  which  in  the  eleventh  century 
was  a  nest  of  robbers,  and  for  that  reason  was  called 
*^  The  Valley  of  Wormwood ;"  but  after  the  banditti 
were  driven  out,  it  was  called  Clairvaux — ^' Clear 
Valley. ''  Here,  in  1115,  was  established  a  monastery 
of  the  Cistercian  Order,  with  a  young  man  of  twenty- 
four  as  abbot,  famous  in  history  as  Bernard  of  Clair- 
vaux. So  magical  was  his  influence  that  speedily 
this  sterile  valley  became  one  of  the  great  centers  of 
power  for  all  Europe,  rivaling  even  Rome  itself. 
From  it  were  sent  out  missionaries  to  all  parts  oi 
France,  Italy,  Spain,  Switzerland,  Germany,  England, 
Ireland,  Denmark,  and  Sweden,  for  the  establishment 
of  new  monasteries,  or  the  reformation  of  old  ones; 
so  that  at  the  time  of  Bernard^s  death,  thirty-seven 
years  later,  there  were  no  less  than  one  hundred 
and  sixty  monasteries  which  had  been  formed  under 
his  influence. 

Bernard  was  born  in  a  small  town  in  Burgundy, 
in  the  year  1091,  and  was  educated  at  the  University 
of  Paris.  His  father  was  a  knight,  his  mother  a 
saint.  To  this  superior  woman,  as  to  the  mothers  of 
Augustine  and  the  Wesleys,  must  be  attributed  much 

13 


186  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

of  the  strength  of  character  exhibited  by  her  remark- 
able son.  She  brought  all  her  children — seven  sons 
and  a  daughter — as  soon  as  they  saw  the  light,  to  the 
altar,  that  she  might  solemnly  consecrate  them  to 
God;  which  consecration  she  followed  up  by  wise, 
tender,  patient,  and  loving  instruction.  As  a  result, 
strong  religious  impressions  were  early  made  upon 
the  mind  of  Bernard,  who  was  the  third  of  her  sons, 
and  after  his  mother's  death  they  matured  into  his 
taking  the  vows  of  monastic  devotion. 

Bernard  was  altogether  the  grandest  man  of  this 
dark  time.  Luther  calls  him  '^the  best  monk  that 
ever  lived."  In  his  personal  influence  he  was  might- 
ier than  kings  or  popes,  and  was  often  the  chosen 
and  trusted  counselor  of  both.  He  was  repeatedly 
sought  as  bishop  for  influential  centers  in  the  church, 
but  steadily  refused  all  ecclesiastical  preferment. 
Trench  says:  "There  have  been  other  men — Augus- 
tine and  Luther,  for  instance — who,  by  their  words 
and  writings,  have  plowed  deeper  and  more  lasting 
furrows  in  the  great  field  of  the  church,  but  probably 
no  man,  during  his  own  life-time,  ever  exercised  a 
personal  influence  in  Christendom  equal  to  his.''  It 
is  hardly  to  be  wondered  at  that,  in  this  time  of  pop- 
ular ignorance  and  superstition,  he  should  be  credited 
by  the  common  people  with  the  power  of  miracle- 
working,  nor  even  that  he  himself  should  seem  to 
share  that  belief.  Indeed  his  whole  career  seems  to 
have  been  one  continuous  and  splendid  miracle.  His 
brothers  were  at  first  violently  opposed  to  his  enter- 
ing upon  a  monastic  life,  and  for  a  long  time  a  fierce 
struggle  was  kept  up  in  his  own  breast.     But  as  he 


LATER  MEDIEVAL  HYMNS.  187 

was  going  one  night  to  visit  one  of  his  brothers,  who 
was  a  knight  and  at  that  time  engaged  in  beleaguer- 
ing a  castle,  the  memory  of  his  dead  mother  came  to 
him  with  such  resistless  force  that  he  was  constrained 
to  enter  a  church  by  the  road-side,  and,  with  a  flood 
of  tears,  he  poured  out  his  heart  before  God,  and  sol- 
emnly consecrated  himself  to  his  service  in  a  life  of 
monasticism.  Such  was  the  fervor  of  his  zeal  and  the 
force  of  his  personal  influence  that  all  his  brothers 
but  one,  who  was  then  a  mere  child,  together  with 
others  of  his  relatives  and  friends,  were  induced  to 
join  him  in  this  course  of  life.  That  this  humble 
monk,  at  the  head  of  a  new  monastery,  in  an  obscure 
and  uninfluential  region,  should  so  suddenly  have 
risen  above  all  crowned  and  mitred  heads,  is  truly 
marvelous,  and  evinces  extraordinary  qualities  of  per- 
sonal nature  and  character. 

What  distinguished  Bernard  above  all  other  men 
of  his  time,  and  most  men  of  all  time,  was  the  union 
in  his  character  of  a  piety  singularly  ardent  and  spir- 
itual with  transcendent  administrative  ability.  Almost 
the  only  man  fully  worthy  to  be  compared  with  him 
in  this  regard  is  John  Wesley.  He  was  both  con- 
templative and  practical.  He  felt  the  full  power  of 
the  forces  of  the  invisible  world,  and  under  their 
pressure  he  brought  to  bear  upon  the  outward  world 
a  many-sided  activity.  He  felt  himself  to  be  in  the 
world  on  God's  errand.  "  I  must,"  he  says,  '^  whether 
willing  or  unwilling,  live  for  Him  who  has  acquired 
a  property  in  my  life  by  giving  up  His  own  for  me." 
^^To  whom  am  I  more  bound  to  live  than  to  Him 
whose  death   is  the   cause  of  my  living?     To  whom 


188  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

can  I  devote  my  life  with  greater  advantage  than  to 
Him  who  promises  me  the  life  eternal?  To  whom 
with  greater  necessity  than  to  Him  who  threatens  the 
everlasting  fire?  But  I  serve  Him  with  freedom, 
since  love  brings  freedom?  To  this,  dear  brethren, 
I  invite  you.  Serve  in  that  love  which  casteth  out 
fear,  feels  no  toils,  thinks  of  no  merit,  asks  no  re- 
ward, and  yet  carries  with  it  a  mightier  constraint 
than  all  .things  else/'  In  such  words  as  these  do  we 
see  the  secret  of  his  wonderful  and  sublime  life. 

Seven  poems  from  the  pen  of  Bernard  have  been 
preserved;  but  most  of  his  hymns  which  are  in  use 
are  from  one  of  these — different  versions  of  different 
parts.     The  best  known  of  these  hymns  are : 

O  sacred  head  now  wounded. 

Of  Him  who  did  salvation  bring. 

We  sinners.  Lord,  with  earnest  heart. 

Jesus,  thou  joy  of  loving  hearts. 

Jesus,  the  very  thought  of  thee. 

0  Jesus,  King  most  wonderful. 

O  Jesus,  thou  the  beauty  art.  (i) 

The  first  of  these  is  the  most  famous,  and  indeed 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  all  medieval  hymns. 
In  its  present  form  it  is  a  translation  of  a  translation, 
and  hence  is,  in  a  special  sense,  a  monument  of  the 
unity  of  the  Christian  cluirch.  Its  first  translator  into 
German,  and  in  some  sense  co-author,  was  that  prince 
of  German  hymnists,  Paul  Gerhardt;  while  the  trans- 
lator into  English  was  the  distinguished  American 
Presbyterian,  Dr.  James  W.  Alexander.     In  this  ver- 


LATER  MEDIEVAL  HYMNS.  189 

sion  the  hymn  is  adopted  in  most  English  hymnals  of 
recent  date;  the  only  ones  showing  any  disposition  to 
pass  it  by  being  those  of  the  so-called  liberalistic 
faith,  it  being  unacceptable  in  them  because  of  the 
prominence  it  gives  to  the  death  of  Christ.  Dr. 
Philip  Schaff  says:  "This  classical  hymn  has  shown 
an  imperishable  vitality  in  passing  from  the  Latin 
into  the  German  and  from  the  German  into  the 
English,  and  proclaiming  in  three  tongues,  and  in 
the  name  of  three  confessions — the  Catholic,  the 
Lutheran,  and  the  Reformed — with  equal  effect,  the 
dying  love  of  our  Savior  and  our  boundless  indebted- 
ness to  Him.''  It  was  this  hymn  which  the  mission- 
ary Schwartz  sung,  literally  with  his  dying  breath. 
Indeed  he  was  thought  to  be  already  dead,  and  his 
friend  and  fellows-laborer,  Gericke,  with  several  of 
the  native  Tamil  converts,  began  to  chant  over  his 
lifeless  remains  this  hymn  of  Bernard,  which  had 
been  translated  into  Tamil  and  was  a  special  favorite 
with  Schwartz.  The  first  verse  was  finished  without 
any  sign  of  recognition,  or  even  of  life,  from  the  still 
form  before  them ;  but  when  the  last  clause  was  over, 
the  voice  which  was  supposed  to  be  hushed  in  death, 
took  up  the  second  stanza  of  the  hymn,  completed  it 
with  distinct  and  articulate  utterance,  and  then  was 
heard  no  more.  His  spirit  had  risen  on  this  hymn 
into  the  society  of  angels  and  the  presence  of  God. 

By  an  eminent  authority,  Adam  of  St.  Victor  is 
pronounced  "the  greatest  of  the  Latin  hymnologists 
of  the  Middle  Ages."  So  little  is  known  of  his  per- 
sonal history  that  it  is  still  a  matter  of  uncertainty 
whether  he  was  born  in  the   island  of  Great  Britain 


190  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

or  in  Brittany  in  France,  though  probably  the  latter. 
He  pursued  his  studies  at  Paris,  and  his  works  show 
him  to  have  been  a  man  of  thorough  literary  and  the- 
ological culture.  He  was  contemporary  with  Bernard 
of  Clairvaux,  but  seems  to  have  outlived  him  by  at 
least  a  quarter  of  a  century.  He  was  the  most  pro- 
lific as  well  as  elegant  hymn-writer  of  the  medieval 
period,  leaving  behind  him  about  one  hundred  hymns, 
of  which  at  least  one-half  are  of  acknowledged  excel- 
lence. As  often  happens,  however,  his  hymns  have  a 
special  charm  and  subtlety  which  seems  almost  indis- 
solubly  connected  with  the  language  in  which  they 
were  written,  and  so  has  baffled  the  translators.  Very 
few  of  them  have  come  into  our  own  language  in  a 
form  which  either  does  justice  to  the  original,  or  is 
well  suited  for  use  in  public  worship.  Miller,  in  his 
"Singers  and  Songs  of  the  Church,"  quotes  two  from 
the  "  People\s  Hymnal :" 

The  church  on  earth  with  answering  love. 

The  praises  that  the  blessed  know. 

Both  are  translations  by  Dr.  Neale.  We  quote  one 
verse  of  the  latter,  which  reminds  us  of  a  verse  of 
Watts,  as  do  both  remind  us  of  a  verse  in  one  of 
David's  Psalms: 

"  One  day  of  those  most  glorious  rays 
Is  better  than  ten  thousand  days, 
Refulgent  with  celestial  light, 
And  with  God's  fullest  knowledge  bright." 

We  also  transcribe  a  portion  of  the  former,  which 
may  serve  to  suggest  something  of  the  peculiar  qual- 
ities of  this  eminent  hymnist: 


LATER  MEDIEVAL  HYMNS.  191 

"The  church  on  earth,  with  answering  love, 
Echoes  her  mother's  joys  above  ; 
These  yearly  feast-days  she  may  keep, 
And  yet  for  endless  festals  weep. 

In  this  world's  valley,  dim  and  wild, 
That  mother  must  assist  the  child; 
And  heavenly  guards  must  pitch  their  tents, 
And  range  their  ranks  in  our  defense. 

That  distant  city,  O  how  blest ! 
Whose  feast-days  know'  nor  pause  nor  rest ; 
How  gladsome  is  that  palace-gate, 
Round  which  nor  fear  nor  sorrow  wait ! 

Nor  languor  here,  nor  w^eary  age, 
Nor  fraud,  nor  dread  of  hostile  rage ; 
But  one  the  joy,  and  one  the  song, 
And  one  the  heart  of  all  the  throng." 

But  it  is  agreed  on  all  bauds  that  there  is  a 
subtlety  and  grace  in  the  original  that  even  this  emi- 
nent translator  fails  to  represent.  Possibly  a  more 
just  conception  of  the  author  may  be  gained  from 
Mrs.  Charles's  version  of  his  poem — it  can  hardly  be 
called  a  hymn — on  Affliction  : 

"As  the  harp-strings  only  render 
All  their  treasures  of  sweet  sound, 
All  their  music,  glad  or  tender, 
Firmly  struck,  and  tightly  bound ; 

So  the  hearts  of  Christians  owe, 

Each  its  deepest,  sweetest  strain, 
To  the  pressure  firm  of  woe, 

And  the  tension  tight  of  pain. 

Spices,  crushed,  their  pungence  yield ; 

Trodden  scents  their  sweets  respire ; 
Would  you  have  its  strength  revealed. 

Cast  the  incense  in  the  fire. 


192  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

Thus  the  crushed  and  broken  frame 

Oft  doth  sweetest  graces  yield ; 
And  through  suffering,  toil,  and  shame — 
From  the  martyr's  keenest  flame — 

Heavenly  incense  is  distilled."  '2) 

The  famous  hymns  of  this  period  are :  ^^  The 
Celestial  Country/'  ''The  Stabat  Mater/'  and  the 
"Dies  Irae;"  which  have  been  pronounced,  and  in 
the  order  given,  the  most  beautiful,  the  most  pathetic, 
and  the  most  sublime  of  medieval  poems. 

The  author  of  the  first  was  Bernard  of  Cluny,  of 
whom  we  know  almost  nothing  save  the  name,  and 
that  he  lived  in  the  first  half  of  the  twelfth  century. 
Even  the  place  of  his  birth  is  a  matter  of  uncertainty, 
most  authorities  placing  it  in  Morlaix,  in  Bretagne ; 
others,  in  Morlas,  in  the  Pyrenees  Mountains;  while 
one  author  gives  his  birthplace  to  England,  and  classes 
him  with  her  illustrious  writers.  He  was  a  monk, 
and  though  this  type  of  life  was  not  likely  to  be 
eventful,  so  as  to  admit  of  very  definite  and  individ- 
ualizing record,  yet  we  may  with  safety  take  the  gen- 
eral picture  of  monasticism  in  this  period,  and  write 
under  it  the  name  of  any  individual  monk  in  whom 
we  have  come  to  feel  an  interest.  There  is  a  beauti- 
ful tradition  of  another  monk  of  this  time — the  author 
of  the  "  Imitation,"  as  well  as  some  hymns  which  for 
his  sake  are  cherished — that  may  serve  to  suggest  one 
characteristic  feature  of  a  monastic  life,  and  one  secret 
of  the  wonderful  power  which  some  of  these  men, 
separated  from  the  world,  have  actually  wielded.  It 
is  said  of  Thomas  a  Kempis  (1379-1471)  that  he  was 
wont  to  walk  with  his  brother  monks  in  the  cloisters 
and  retreats  of  his  order,  but  would  sometimes  sud- 


LATER  MEDIEVAL  HYMNS.  193 

denly  stop,  and  exclaim:  ^^  Dear  brethren,  I  must  go. 
There  is  some  one  waiting  for  me  in  my  cell."  That 
some  one  was  the  Lord  Jesus,  whose  name,  as  Ber- 
nard himself  said,  is  "honey  in  the  mouth,  melody  in 
the  ear,  joy  in  the  heart,  and  medicine  in  the  soul." 
Bernard's  great  poem — "  De  Contemptu  Mundi " — 
contains  three  thousand  lines,  written  in  a  meter  so 
difficult  as  to  give  color  to  the  claim  of  the  author 
that  he  could  never  have  written  without  the  special 
help  and  inspiration  of  God.  Each  line  in  the  orig- 
inal consists  of  the  three  parts,  the  first  two  of  which 
rhyme  with  each  other,  while  the  lines  themselves 
are  in  couplets  of  double  rhyme.  The  music  of  the 
original  is  easily  recognized,  even  by  those  who  are 
not  familiar  with  the  Latin  tongue : 

"Hora  novissima,  tempora  pessima,  sunt  vigilemus 
Ecce  minaciter,  imminet  arbiter,  ille  supremiis, 
Imminet,  imminet,  et  mala  terminet  £equa  coronet 
Recta  remuneret,  anxia  liberet,  aetbera  donet."  (3) 

A  portion  of  this  poem  was  translated  a  few  years 
since  by  Dr.  Neale,  and  given  to  the  public  under 
this  title — "  The  Rhythm  of  Bernard  de  Morlaix,  Monk 
of  Cluny,  on  the  Celestial  Country " — from  which 
version  have  been  taken  the  hymns  in  common  use 
from  Bernard.     These  are : 

The  world  is  very  evil. 

Brief  life  is  here  our  portion. 

For  thee,  O  dear,  dear  country. 

Jerusalem,  the  golden. 

Dr.  Neale  in  his  notes  on  Bernard  says :  "  Thank- 
ful am  I  that  Cluniac's  verses   should   have  soothed 


194  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGV. 

so  many  of  God^s  servants.  The  most  striking  in- 
stance of  which  I  know  is  that  of  a  child,  who,  when 
suffering  agonies  which  the  medical  attendants  de- 
clared to  be  almost  unparalleled,  would  lie,  without 
a  murmur  or  motion,  while  the  whole  four  hundred 
lines  of  the  translation  were  read  to  him.'' 

The  editor  of  ^'  The  Seven  Great  Hymns  of  the 
Medieval  Church"  calls  this  poem  " 2i  description  of 
the  celestial  land,  more  beautiful  than  ever  before 
was  wrought  out  in  verse."  "The  hymn  of  this 
heavenly  monk,"  says  Christophers,  "  has  found  its 
way  into  the  hearts  of  all  Christians,  and  into  the 
choirs  and  public  services  of  all  Christian  churches." 
Perhaps  no  other  hymns  on  heaven  are  more  widely 
used,  or  more  strictly  ecumenical,  than  those  which 
have  been  made  from  this  poem.  It  may  not  be 
without  interest  to  read  the  testimony  of  the  author 
of  the  version  as  to  the  music  to  which  these  words 
should  be  sung  :  "  I  have  been  so  often  asked  to 
what  tune  the  words  of  Bernard  should  be  sung,  that 
I  may  here  mention  that  of  Mr.  Ewing,  the  earliest 
written,  the  best  known,  and,  with  children,  the  most 
popular;  that  of  my  friend,  the  Rev.  H.  L.  Jenner, 
perhaps  the  most  ecclesiastical;  and  that  of  another 
friend,  Mr.  Edmund  Sedding,  which,  to  my  mind, 
best  expresses  the  meaning  of  the  words."  Of  these 
the  tune  Ewing  is  in  common  use  in  the  American 
churches,  and  is  certainly  fully  deserving  of  the  honor 
of  being  permanently  associated  with  "Jerusalem, 
the  golden." 

The  "Stabat  Mater"  was  written  a  hundred  years 
later   by  Jacobus   de  Benedictus,  a    man  of  a   noble 


LATER  MEDIEVAL  HYMNS.  195 

Italian  family,  and  a  jurist  of  eminent  distinction. 
Broken-hearted  at  the  death  of  his  wife — who  lost  her 
life  by  an  accident  at  a  theater — he  renounced  the 
world  to  join  the  order  of  St.  Francis,  seeking  by 
self-inflicted  physical  tortures  to  chastise  his  soul  into 
submission  and  peace.  It  is  also  related,  though  this 
has  been  questioned,  that  his  sorrows  drove  him  to 
insanity  and  death.  He  was  certainly  a  man  of  rare 
zeal  and  courage.  He  so  vigorously  attacked  the  re- 
ligious abuses  of  his  time  as  to  bring  him  into  col- 
lision with  Pope  Boniface  VIII,  who  caused  him  to 
be  thrown  into  prison,  from  which  he  was  only  lib- 
erated at  the  death  of  his  papal  enemy.  A  single 
anecdote  of  this  imprisonment  shows  the  spirit  of  the 
man.  When  the  pope  sent  to  him  a  taunting  mes- 
sage— ^^When  will  you  get  out?" — he  answered  by 
sending  back  the  reply:  "When  will  you  get  in?'' 

The  hymn  is  characterized  in  a  pre-eminent  degree 
by  tenderness  and  pathos;  in  these  regards  surpassing 
all  other  hymns  of  the  Latin  church.  One  of  the 
best  translations  of  it  is  that  made  by  our  own  dis- 
tinguished scholar  and  statesman,  General  Dix,  late 
governor  of  the  State  of  New^  York.  Simply  to  illus- 
trate the  hymn — which,  though  it  holds  a  conspic- 
uous place  in  sacred  music  and  in  the  literature  of  the 
church,  is  yet,  on  account  of  a  certain  tinge  of  Mari- 
olatry,  not  ordinarily  found  in  Protestant  hymn- 
books — we  quote  a  few  lines  of  the  above-mentioned 
version,  which  is  faithful  and  felicitous  in  diction  and 


measure : 


(4) 


'  Near  the  cross  the  Savior  bearing 
Stood  the  mother  lone,  despairing, 


196  STUDIES  IX  H  }  'MXOL  OGY. 

Bitter  tears  down-falling  fast ; 
"Wearied  was  her  heart  with  grieving, 
Worn  her  breast  with  sorrow  heaving. 

Through  her  soul  the  sword  had  passed. 

Ah  I  how  sad  and  broken-hearted 
Was  that  blessed  mother,  parted 

From  the  God-begotten  One ; 
How  her  loving  heart  did  languish, 
When  she  saw  the  mortal  anguish 

Which  o'erwhelmed  her  peerless  Son  I 

Who  could  witness,  without  weeping, 
Such  a  flood  of  sorrow  sweeping 

O'er  the  stricken  mother's  breast? 
Who  contemplate,  without  being 
Moved  to  kindred  grief  by  seeing, 

Son  and  mother  thus  oppressed? 

For  our  sins  she  saw  him  bending, 
And  the  cruel  lash  descending 

On  his  body  stripped  and  bare ; 
Saw  her  own  dear  Jesus  dying, 
Heard  his  spirit's  last  outcrying. 

Sharp  with  anguish  and  despair. 

Gentle  mother,  love's  pure  fountain  I 
Cast>  0  cast  on  me  the  mountain 

Of  thy  grief,  that  I  may  weep ; 
Let  my  heart,  with  ardor  burning, 
Christ's  unbounded  love  returning. 

His  rich  favor  win  and  keep." 

There  is  a  companion  hymn  to  this,  written  by 
the  same  author,  which  has  but  recently  been  brought 
to  the  attention  of  the  Christian  public/^^  It  is 
called  the  ''  Mater  Speciosa,"  as  might  the  other  be 
called  the  "  Mater  Dolorosa.''  From  the  oblivion  of 
centuries  it  has  been  rescued  by  editors  and  trans- 
lators of  the  present  generation,  Dr.  Xeale  having  given 
his   English  version  of  this  hymn   to    the   public    in 


LATER  MEDIEVAL  HYMNS.  197 

1866.  As  the  "  Stabat  Mater"  represents  Mary 
standing  at  the  cross,  the  ''  Mater  Speciosa "  repre- 
sents her  by  the  manger.  As,  therefore,  the  first  is  a 
hymn  for  Good  Friday,  the  latter  is  a  Christmas  hymn 
of  singular  delicacy,  beauty,  and  warmth  of  feeling. 
We  quote  a  part  of  Dr.  Xeale's  yersion : 

"Full  of  beauty  stood  the  mother 
By  the  manger,  blest  o'er  other, 

Where  her  little  one  she  lays ; 
For  her  inmost  soul's  elation, 
In  its  fer\-id  jubilation, 

Thrills  with  ecstasy  of  praise. 

Oh  I  what  glad,  what  rapturous  feeling 
Filled  that  blessed  mother,  kneeling 

By  the  sole-begotten  One  I 
How,  her  heart  with  laughter  bounding, 
She  beheld  the  work  astounding, 

Saw  his  birth — the  glorious  Son! 


Jesus  lying  in  the  manger, 
Heayenly  armies  sang  the  stranger. 

In  the  great  joy-bearing  part; 
Stood  the  old  man  with  the  maiden, 
No  words  speaking,  only  laden 

"With  this  wonder  in  their  heart. 

Mother,  fount  of  love  still  flowing. 
Let  me,  with  thy  rapture,  glowing, 

Learn  to  sympathize  with  thee ; 
Let  me  raise  my  heart's  devotion 
Up  to  Christ  with  pure  emotion, 

That  accepted  I  may  be."' 


But  the  great  hymn  of  this  period,  and  of  all 
periods,  is  the  "  Dies  Irae."  It  is  commonly  at- 
tributed to  a  Franciscan  monk  of  the  thirteenth 
century — Thomas  of  Celano — but  the  eyidence  as  to 


198  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

the  identity  of  the  author  is  by  no  means  conclusive. 
Thomas  was  a  personal  friend  as  well  as  pupil  of  St. 
Francis,  and  was  selected  by  Pope  Gregory  to  write 
his  life.  His  native  home  was  in  a  small  town  in 
the  kingdom  of  Naples;  but  so  little  is  known  of  him 
that  not  even  the  dates  of  his  birth  and  death  can  be 
accurately  given.  In  truth,  then,  this  great  hymn 
may  be  fitly  characterized  as  ^'a  solemn  strain,  sung 
by  an  invisible  singer.'^  "There  is  a  hush  in  the 
great  choral  service  of  the  universal  church,  when 
suddenly,  we  scarcely  know  whence,  a  single  voice, 
low  and  trembling,  breaks  the  silence;  so  low  and 
grave  that  it  seems  to  deepen  the  stillness,  yet  so  clear 
and  deep  that  its  softest  tones  are  heard  throughout 
Christendom  and  vibrate  through  every  heart — grand 
and  echoing  as  an  organ,  yet  homely  and  human,  as 
if  the  words  were  spoken  rather  than  sung.  And 
through  the  listening  multitudes,  solemnly  that  mel- 
ody flows  on,  sung  not  to  the  multitudes,  but  Ho  the 
Lord,'  and  therefore  carrying  with  it  the  hearts  of 
men,  till  the  singer  is  no  more  solitary;  but  the  self- 
same, tearful,  solemn  strain  pours  from  the  lips  of  the 
whole  church  as  if  from  one  voice,  and  yet  each  one 
sings  as  if  alone  to  God."  ^^' 

The  hymn  has  been  a  force  in  the  world  of  letters, 
as  well  as  that  of  religious  thought  and  experience. 
It  has  passed  into  upwards  of  two  hundred  transla- 
tions, and  has  called  forth  the  admiration  of  the  most 
eminent  scholars.  The  sturdy  Dr.  Johnson  confessed, 
with  Sir  Walter  Scott,  that  he  could  not  recite  it 
without  tears.  Mozart  made  it  the  basis  of  his  cele- 
brated  requiem,  and  became  so  intensely  excited  by 


LATER  MEDIEVAL  HYMNS.  199 

the  theme  as  to  hasten  his  own  death.  With  what 
power  do  those  few  stanzas  burst  \:pon  us  in  Scott's 
"Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel!"— 

"Then  mass  was  sung,  and  prayers  were  said, 
And  solemn  requiem  for  the  dead, 
And  bells  tolled  out  their  mighty  peal, 
For  the  departed  spirit's  weal : 
And  ever  in  the  office  close 
The  hymn  of  intercession  rose ; 
And  far  the  echoing  aisles  prolong 
The  awful  burden  of  the  song— 
*  Dies  irse,  dies  ilia, 
Sol  vet  sseclum  in  favilla;' 

While  the  pealing  organ  rung; 
Were  it  meet  with  sacred  strain 
To  close  my  lay,  so  hght  and  vain, 

Thus  the  holy  fathers  sung: 

That  day  of  wrath,  that  dreadful  day, 
When  heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away, 
What  power  shall  be  the  sinner's  stay? 
How  shall  he  meet  that  dreadful  day? 

When,  shriveling  like  a  parched  scroll. 
The  flaming  heavens  together  roll ; 
When  louder  yet,,  and  yet  more  dread. 
Swells  the  high  trump  that  wakes  the  dead ! 

Oh !  on  that  day,  that  wrathful  day. 
When  man  to  judgment  wakes  from  clay, 
Be  thou  the  trembling  sinner's  stay. 
Though  heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away  !" 

This  version  by  Sir  Walter  Scott  is  not  strictly  a 
translation,  nor  yet  an  imitation,  but  rather  one  of 
the  many  echoes  which  the  "Dies  Irse"  has  awakened 
in  the  literature  of  the  world.  It  is,  however,  faith- 
ful to  the  spirit  of  the  original,  and  of  remarkable 
power.     The   hold  which   it   had  on  the  mind  of  its 


200  STUDIES  IN  HVMNOLOGY. 

eminent  author  was  shown  by  his  frequent  repetition 
of  it  in  the  delirium  of  his  final  illness. 

As  already  stated,  the  versions  of  this  hymn  may 
be  counted  by  the  hundred.  A  single  author  col- 
lected about  eighty  versions  into  the  German  language 
alone.  A  large  number  of  excellent  versions  have 
been  made  into  our  own  language  by  Irons,  Coles, 
Earl  Roscommon,  Crashaw,  Stanley,  General  Dix, 
and  others.  Several  of  these  are  of  marked  excel- 
lence; but  that  of  Dean  Stanley  has  some  advantages 
for  being  set  to  music,  while  it  is,  at  the  same  time, 
very  faithful  as  a  translation.  The  opening  line  of 
this  version  is: 

Day  of  wrath!     O  dreadful  day! 

The  version  of  Dr.  Irons  will,  however,  be  thought 
by  many  to  represent  more  vividly  the  spirit  of  the 
original,  though  the  meter  is  such  as  to  make  it  very 
difficult  to  find  music  for  it,  adapted  to  the  ordi- 
nary use  of  a  congregation.  From  this  version  we 
transcribe : 

"  Day  of  wrath  !  0  day  of  mourning ! 
See  !  once  more  the  cross  returning, 
Heaven  and  earth  in  ashes  burning ! 

0  what  fear  man's  bosom  rendeth, 
When  from  heaven  the  judge  descendeth, 
On  whose  sentence  all  dependeth  I 

Wondrous  sound  the  trumpet  flingeth, 
Through  earth's  sepulchers  it  ringeth, 
All  before  the  throne  it  bringeth  ! 

Death  is  struck,  and  nature  quaking, 

All  creation  is  awaking, 

To  its  judge  an  answer  making! 


LATER  MEDIEVAL  HYMNS.  201 

Lo !  the  book,  exactly  worded, 
Wherein  all  hath  been  recorded  ; 
Thence  shall  judgment  be  awarded! 

What  shall  I,  frail  man,  be  pleading? 
Who  for  me  be  interceding, 
When  the  just  are  mercy  needing? 

Righteous  Judge  of  Retribution, 

Grant  thy  gift  of  absolution. 

Ere  that  reckoning  day's  conclusion  !" 

About  a  century  earlier  dates  the  more  joyous 
but  less  famous  counterpart  of  the  ^^  Dies  Irse/^  known 
as  the  "Dies  Ilia."  Its  author  is  unknown.  It  is 
well   represented   in   the    excellent    version    of  Mrs. 

Charles : 

Lo!  the  day,  the  day  of  life! 
14 


202  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 


CHAPTER  V. 

HYMNS  FROM  GERMAN  AUTHORS. 

"  '^  I  ^HE  hymns  of  Germany  have  been  her  true  na- 
X  tional  liturgy.  In  England  the  worship  of  the 
Reformed  church  was  linked  to  that  of  past  ages  by 
the  Prayer-book ;  in  Germany,  by  the  hymn-book/' 
We  can  mark  some  connections  between  the  hymns 
and  music  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  the  psalmody  of 
the  German  church,  showing  the  steps  by  which  the 
one  passed  over  into  the  other. 

The  humble  beginnings  of  German  hymnology, 
which  has  come  to  a  development  so  marvelously  rich, 
were  made  in  the  ninth  century.  In  the  time  of  Clmr- 
lemagne,  the  only  part  which  the  people  were  allowed 
to  take  in  the  services  of  the  church  was  to  chant  the 
**  Kyrie  Eleison''  in  the  litany,  and  that  only  on  ex- 
traordinary occasions,  such  as  the  great  feasts,  proces- 
sions, and  the  consecration  of  churches.  But  in  Ger- 
many, during  the  following  century,  short  verses  in 
the  vernacular  were  introduced  at  such  times,  of 
which  the  refrain  was  ^^  Kyrie  Eleison,"  and  this  was 
the  beginning  of  hymnody  in  the  German  language. 
The  oldest  German  Easter  hymn  dates  from  the 
twelfth  century.  The  Latin  hymn,  "  In  the  midst 
of  life,"  one  sentence  of  which  stands  in  the  English 
Prayer-book,  in  the  order  for  the  burial  of  the  dead, 


HYMNS  FROM  GERMAN  AUTHORS.  203 

and  is  said  actually  to  have  been  taken  by  Robert 
Hall  as  a  text  for  the  preparation  of  a  sermon,  under 
the  impression  that  it  was  a  sentence  of  Holy  Scrip- 
ture, was  written  by  Notker,  a  learned  Benedictine, 
near  the  beginning  of  the  tenth  century.  It  was 
suggested  to  him  as  he  was  watching  some  workmen 
who  were  building  the  bridge  of  Martinsburg  at  the 
peril  of  their  lives.  The  hymn  attained  to  a  wonder- 
ful celebrity,  and  was  even  used  as  a  battle  song, 
until  finally  its  use  in  this  way  was  forbidden  on  ac- 
count of  its  being  supposed  to  exercise  a  magical  in- 
fluence. It  was  early  translated  into  German,  and 
this  version  formed  a  part  of  the  service  for  the  burial 
of  the  dead  as  early  as  the  thirteenth  century. 

The  Flagellant  fanaticism  exerted  an  important 
influence  in  fostering  and  establishing  the  practice  of 
singing  hymns  in  the  vernacular  of  the  people.  Pro- 
cessions of  these  pious  pilgrims  would  go  through  the 
towns  and  cities,  singing  hymns  and  chants,  which 
found  ready  access  to  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and 
became  a  very  influential  factor  in  this  extraordinary 
movement.  The  great  Hussite  movement,  w^hich 
stirred  the  church  more  profoundly,  and  interested 
some  of  the  most  cultured  and  spiritual  men  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  gave  new  impetus  and  dignity  to 
this  tendency,  so  that  really  useful  popular  hymns 
were  originated.  In  1504  a  considerable  volume  of 
hymns,  which  had  been  in  use  among  the  *'  Bohemian 
Brethren,''  was  published  by  Lucas,  one  of  their 
bishops.  In  the  fifteenth  century  German  hymns 
came  to  be  used  in  special  services  and  solemnities  of 
the  church,  and,  in  some  cases,  even  at  the  principal 


204  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

service  and  at  mass.  Mixed  hymns,  half  Latin  and 
half  German,  also  contributed  their  influence  to  break- 
ing down  the  barrier  between  the  learned  clergy  and 
the  common  }3eople,  and  also  between  the  church  and 
the  home.  Translations  and  adaptations  of  the  old 
Latin  hymns  now  begin  to  appear.  In  this  later 
medieval  period,  too,  we  mark  for  the  first  time  a 
type  of  hymn  which  has  too  often  since  then  reap- 
peared, and  sometimes  in  forms  peculiarly  shocking 
and  profane.  Secular  and  love  songs  were,  by  slight 
changes,  appropriated  to  religious  uses,  carrying  the 
original  melody  with  them  into  the  service  of  relig- 
ion. For  instance,  a  popular  ditty,  originally  in- 
tended for  wandering  apprentices,  commencing 

"  Inspruck,  I  must  leave  thee, 
And  go  my  lonely  way, 
Far  hence  to  foreign  lands,"  etc., 

was  changed  to 

"O  world,  I  must  leave  thee, 
And  go  my  lonely  way 
Unto  my  Father's  home,"  etc. 

So  in  this  country,  and  in  this  century,  a  song  com- 
mencing 

"Thou,  love,  reignest  in  this  bosom; 
There,  there  hast  thou  thy  throne; 
Thou,  thou  knovvest  that  1  love  thee — 
Am  I  not  fomily  thine  own?" 

has  been  published  and  sung, 

"Thou,  Lord^  reignest  in  this  bosom,"  etc. 

Another  instance,  still  more  grotesque,  though  scarcely 
more  shocking,   was  furnished  in  the  times,  of  what 


HYMNS  FROM  GERMAN  AUTHORS.         205 

was  known  as  the  Millerite  excitement,  in  1843.  To 
the  familiar  and  popular  tune  known  as  '^  The  Old 
Granite  State '^  such  wcfi'ds  as  these  were  sung: 

**  You  will  see  your  Lord  a-coming, 
You  will  see  your  Lord  a-coming, 
You  will  see  your  Lord  a-coming 

In  the  old  church-yard; 
While  a  band  of  music, 
While  a  band  of  music, 
While  a  band  of  music 

Will  be  sounding  through  the  air." 

Other  verses  were : 

"You  will  see  the  dead  arising." 
"  We  '11  march  up  into  the  city." 

A  hymn  is  preserved  from  St.  Francis,  the  founder 
of  the  Franciscan  order,  of  a  different  type,  but 
equally  marked  and  peculiar.  In  this  hymn  he  in- 
troduces "Brother  Sun,''  "Sister  Moon,"  "Brother 
Wind,"  "Sister  Water,"  "Mother  Earth,"  and 
"  Brother  Death  "  as  praising  the  Creator. 

But  it  was  reserved  for  the  church  of  the  Refor- 
mation to  show  the  true  office  of  the  hymn,  and  to 
illustrate  its  character.  As  the  warmth  of  spring  re- 
leases the  streams  from  their  icy  fetters,  and  calls 
back  again  their  rippling  melodies,  so  did  the  light 
and  warmth  of  the  Reformation  era  bring  back  into 
the  homes  and  hearts  of  the  people  their  long-lost 
music.  This  is  illustrated  in  the  sudden  and  extraor- 
dinary multiplication  of  hymns,  and  the  great  vari- 
ety of  uses  to  which  they  were  appropriated.  When 
Luther  arose  there  were  not,  so  far  as  can  now  be 
told,  more  than   one   thousand   hymns   in  the   entire 


206  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

church ;  now  there  are  more  than  one  hundred  thou- 
sand. Then  the  hymn  was  something  grand,  formal, 
artistic,  suited  for  liturgical  use,  the  peculiar  and  ex- 
clusive property  of  the  priest,  the  choir,  and  the 
temple ;  now  the  church  is  beginning  to  learn  that 
the  whole  universe  is  set  to  music ;  that  the  echoes 
of  the  ^'  morning  stars"  are  always  resounding  in  our 
air;  that  wherever  there  is  a  worshiper,  there  may  be, 
and  ought  to  be,  a  hymn.  As  the  earliest  Christian 
hymn  whose  author  can  be  identified  is  suited  espe- 
cially to  childhood  and  the  life  of  the  home ;  as  the 
"Magnificat''  and  the  "Nunc  Dimittis"  were  prima- 
rily private  and  personal  rather  than  public  and 
liturgical ;  as  the  psalms  of  the  Jews  touch  upon  all 
conditions  of  their  life,  many  of  them  seeming  to  be 
for  the  household  or  the  individual  rather  than  the 
gr2at  assembly,  so  again  hymns  became  the  liturgy 
of  the  people,  and  the  words  of  joyous,  holy  song 
shook  the  world. 

Martin  Luther  was  born  in  Eisleben,  November 
10,  1483.  His  father  was  a  poor  miner,  who  sup- 
ported his  family  by  daily  toil.  He  was  educated 
first  at  the  Latin  school  of  Mansfeldt,  then  at  the 
Franciscan  school  of  Magdeburg,  where  he  supported 
himself  by  singing  from  door  to  door;  then  at  the 
school  of  Eisenach,  where  the  wife  of  Conrad  Cotta 
befriended  and  aided  him;  and  finally  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  Erfurth,  from  which  he  took  the  master's  de- 
gree and  also  that  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-two  he  entered  the  monastery  of  St. 
Augustine,  and  three  years  later  he  was  made  Pro- 
fessor of  Philosophy  in  the  University  of  Wittem- 


HYMNS  FROM  GERMAN  AUTHORS.         207 

berg.  He  posted  his  famous  theses  against  indul- 
gences in  1517,  and  three  years  later  he  took  the 
boldest  step  of  his  life,  in  publicly  burning  the  papal 
bull  of  excommunication.  In  1522  his  version  of 
the  New  Testament  was  given  to  the  public;  in  1525 
he  was  married;  and  he  died  at  Wittemberg,  Febru- 
ary 18,  1546. 

This  great  leader  in  the  older  Reformation  was 
so  passionately  fond  of  music  that  it  used  to  be  said 
of  him  that  his  soul  could  find  its  fullest  expression 
only  through  his  flute  amid  tears.  "  Music,'^  said  he, 
'^  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  noble  gifts  of  God. 
It  is  the  best  solace  to  a  man  in  sorrow;  it  quiets, 
quickens,  and  refreshes  the  heart.  I  give  music  the 
next  place  and  the  highest  honor  after  theology.^'  A 
similar  testimony  he  bears  also  to  poetry,  confessing 
that  he  has  been  ^'  more  influenced  and  delighted  by 
poetry  than  by  the  most  eloquent  oration  of  Cicero 
and  Demosthenes."  His  enemies  said  of  him  that  he 
did  more  harm  by  his  hymns  than  by  his  sermons; 
and  Coleridge  says  ^^he  did  as  much  for  the  Refor- 
mation by  his  hymns  as  by  his  translation  of  the 
Bible."  Thirty-seven  of  Luther's  hymns  have  been 
preserved,  some  of  them  being  versions  of  the  He- 
brew Psalms,  others  versions  of  the  old  Latin  hymns, 
while  still  others  are  original  both  as  to  form  and 
subject  matter.  The  earliest  of  these  is  believed  to 
be  that  one  the  English  version  of  which  commences 

Flung  to  the  heedless  winds/i) 

which  was  called  forth  by  the  martyrdom  of  two 
young   Christian    monks,    who    were    burnt    alive    at 


208  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOL OGY. 

Brussels.  Interpreted  by  such  an  event,  it  is  a  sub- 
lime and  characteristic  testimony  to  the  same  faith 
which  is  so  resplendent  in  Luther's  entire  history. 
But  his  great  hymn,  and  perhaps,  taken  all  in  all,  his 
most  characteristic  production,  is  that  commencing 
"  Ein  feste  Burg  ist  unser  Gott^' — '^  A  strong  tower  is 
our  God/'  Rough  and  rugged,  full  of  strength,  but 
with  little  beauty,  it  is  eminently  worthy  of  him 
whose  very  words  were  half  battles.  It  was  com- 
posed at  the  time  when  the  evangelical  princes  deliv- 
ered their  protest  at  the  second  Diet  of  Spires,  in 
1529,  from  which  event  the  name  "Protestant"  had 
its  origin.  The  hymn  at  once  became  one  of  the 
watchwords  of  the  Reformation,  as  it  has  since  come 
to  be  regarded  the  national  hymn  of  Germany.  After 
Luther's  death,  one  day  Melanchthon  was  at  Weimar, 
with  his  banished  friends  Jonas  and  Creuziger,  and 
heard  a  little  girl  singing  this  hymn  in  the  street. 
"Sing  on,  my  little  maid,"  said  he;  "  you  little  know 
what  famous  people  you  comfort." 

One  of  the  very  best  of  the  many  English  ver- 
sions of  this  hymn  is  that  by  Rev.  Dr.  Hedge,  com- 
mencing 

A  mighty  fortress  is  our  God.(2) 

Even   more  characteristic  is  Carlyle's  version  : 

A  safe  stronghold  our  God  is  still. 

This  hymn  has  had  a  notable  history.  As  its  origin 
was  coincident  with  the  Protestant  name,  so  it  has 
ever  been  regarded  as  one  of  the  great  representative 
hymns  of  the  Protestant  church.  It  was  sung  by 
that  noble  Christian  hero  Gustavus  Adolphus,  on  the 


HYMNS  FROM  GERMAN  AUTHORS.         209 

morning  of  the  day  on  which  he  sealed  his  fidelity  to 
God  with  his  blood.  The  two  armies  had  been  drawn 
up,  and  were  waiting  for  the  morning  mist  to  disperse 
in  order  that  the  struggle  might  begin.  At  the  com- 
mand of  Gustavus  the  whole  army  joined  in  singing 
Luther^s  grand  psalm,  and  then  the  hymn  which  has 
since  been  called  by  his  own  name,  '^  The  Battle- 
hymn  of  Gustavus  Adolphus:'' 

Fear  not,  O  little  flock,  the  foe.(^) 

Immediately  afterward  the  mist  broke,  and  the  glory 
of  the  morning  sunshine  came  down  upon  the  scene. 
For  a  moment  the  king  knelt  dow^n  beside  his  horse, 
in  the  presence  of  his  soldiers,  and  repeated  his  usual 
battle-prayer:  ''O  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  bless  our  arms 
and  this  day's  battle  for  the  glory  of  thy  holy  name." 
Then,  passing  along  the  lines,  he  spoke  brief  words 
of  encouragement,  and  gave  the  battle-cry,  ^'  God 
with  us !''  Thus  began  that  memorable  battle  which 
laid  low  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight  the  noblest  king 
and  soldier  Europe  has  had  since  the  Reformation. 

There  are  many  interesting  associations  connected 
with  another  hymn  of  Luther :  '■^  Out  of  the  depths  I 
cry  to  thee."  It  was  written  in  1524,  soon  after  its 
author  was  fairly  launched  in  his  new  career  as  the 
leader  of  a  great  and  difficult  movement.  It  is  an 
impassioned  and  earnest  appeal  to  God  out  of  the 
depths  of  his  conscious  weakness  and  helplessness. 
It  was  eagerly  taken  up  by  the  people,  who  were 
bound  to  him  by  the  same  ties  of  danger  and  extrem- 
ity which  the  very  conditions  of  the  Reformation 
gave  rise  to.     Later  it  came  to  be  used  as  a  funeral 


210  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

hymn,  and  it  was  sung,  amid  tears  and  lamentations, 
at  Luther's  own  funeral. 

The  hymn  of  Gustavus  Adolphus  is,  in  many  re- 
gards, more  perfect  and  better  suited  for  ordinary  use 
than  that  of  Luther.  It  seems  to  have  come  from 
the  royal  author  whose  name  it  bears,  but  in  what 
precise  form  can  not  now  be  determined.  It  has, 
however,  been  conjectured  that  the  substance  of  it, 
and  perhaps  much  of  the  language,  was  written  by 
Gustavus,  and  that  his  chaplain,  Fabricius,  threw  it 
into  its  perfect  metrical  form;  but  it  can  not  now  be 
determined  whether  the  original  was  in  Swedish  or 
German,  though,  as  representing  the  king  himself,  the 
former  would  seem  to  have  special  interest.  There 
are  few  better  hymns  of  Christian  trust  and  courage 
than  this.  A  community  in  our  own  land,  on  that 
terrible  Monday  when  we  learned  of  the  disastrous 
defeat  at  Bull  Run,  found  in  this  old  battle-hymn 
words  adapted  to  the  trying  emergency: 

"  Fear  not,  O  little  flock,  the  foe 
Who  madly  seeks  your  overthrow, 

Dread  not  his  rage  and  power; 
Wliat  though  your  courage  sometimes  faints, 
This  seeming  triumph  o'er  God's  saints 

Lasts  hut  a  little  hour." 

The  Hussite  movement  was  represented  in  the 
fifteenth  century  by  the  "  Bohemian  Brethren,''  and 
among  these  Christians,  even  before  Luther  arose,  a 
very  considerable  psalmody  was  developed.  This 
was  one  important  source  of  the  hymnody  of  the 
Lutherans.  Both  in  doctrine  and  life  the  church  of 
the   Reformation    was   not   a  little   indebted   to   such 


HYMNS  FROM  GERMAN  AUTHORS.         211 

"  reformers   before    the    Reformation  ^'   as   Huss  and 
Jerome. 

Rev.  Michael  Weisse  (died  1540),  a  German  min- 
ister in  Bohemia,  translated  many  of  the  Bohemian 
hymns  and  added  some  of  his  own.  Among  the 
hymns  thus  furnished  is  a  very  precious  and  popular 
funeral  hymn — ''  Nun  lasst  uns  den  Leib  begraben  "^^^ — 
to  which  Luther  added  one  verse.  The  first  line  of 
the  hymn  by  which  he  is  represented  in  many  mod- 
ern collections  is, 

Christ  the  Lord  is  risen  again. 

A  hymn  has  been  in  common  use  in  English  congre- 
gations for  a  generation,  and,  by  mistake  of  the 
translator,  attributed  to  Luther.  Its  real  author, 
however,  was  the  Rev.  Bartholomew  Ringwaldt,  who 
was  born  at  Frankfort-on-the-Oder  in  1530,  spent 
his  life  as  a  Lutheran  pastor  at  Langfeld,  in  Prussia, 
and  died  in  1598.  That  one  of  his  hymns  should  be 
ascribed  to  Luther  by  so  good  a  critic  as  Dr.  Collyer 
is  sufficient  proof  of  his  excellence  as  a  writer  of 
hymns.  Many  of  his  hymns  were  born  of  the  suffer- 
ings which  he  and  his  people  endured  from  "  famine, 
pestilence,  fire,  and  floods."     The  hymn  above  referred 

to  is: 

Great  God,  what  do  I  see  and  hear? 

and  was  suggested  by  that  greatest  of  hymns  the 
Dies  Irse.  It  has  marked  power,  though  it  must  be 
confessed  that  the  meter  of  the  English  version  is 
not  well  suited  to  the  dignity  and  solemnity  of  the 
theme. 

Contemporary  with  Ringwaldt  was  the  Rev.  Mar- 


212  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

tin  Boehme  (Behemb)  (1537-1621),  author  of  the 
very  beautiful  and  comprehensive  hymn  which  Miss 
Winkworth  has  translated,  ''  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  my 
life,  my  light/' ^^^ 

Rev.  George  Weiszel  (1590-1635),  the  author  of 
the  hymn  translated  by  Miss  Winkworth,  "  Lift  up 
your  heads,  ye  mighty  gates,''  was  born  at  Domnau, 
in  Prussia,  and  spent  the  last  years  of  his  life  as  pastor 
at  Koenigsberg.  The  hymn  above  mentioned  exhib- 
its rare  felicity  in  lyric  expression,  and  we  are  well 
prepared  to  believe  that  his  influence  may  be  traced 
in  the  more  numerous  hymns  of  his  junior  contem- 
porary in  Koenigsberg,  Professor  Simon  Bach  (died 
1658),  who  composed  one  hundred  and  fifty  hymns  and 
religious  poems.  In  the  place  cited  above  the  hymn 
is  in  long  meter,  and  in  this  regard  gives  no  correct 
idea  of  the  original  as  reflected  in  Miss  Winkworth's 
version.  To  show  the  true  form  of  the  hymn,  we 
transcribe  one  stanza: 

'*Lift  up  your  heads,  ye  mighty  gates; 
Behold,  the  King  of  Glory  waits! 
The  King  of  kings  is  drawing  near, 
The  Savior  of  the  world  is  here ; 
Life  and  salvation  doth  he  bring, 
Wherefore  rejoice  and  gladly  sing 
Praise,  0  my  God,  to  thee! 
Creator,  wise  is  thy  decree. 

What  Luther  was  among  the  singers  of  the  Refor- 
mation era  such  was  Paul  Gerhardt  (1606-1670)  in 
the  period  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War.  Indeed,  as  a 
writer  of  hymns  he  decidedly  outranks  his  great 
master    and    leader.     Luther    is    represented    in   the 


HYMNS  FROM  GERMAN  AUTHORS.         213 

world  of  song  by  thirty-seven  hymns.  But  very  few 
of  these  are  now  used,  especially  outside  of  Germany. 
Gerhardt  is  represented  by  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
three  hymns,  some  of  which  are  among  the  most  spir- 
itual and  most  ecumenical  of  modern  hymns.  Some 
of  the  choicest  hymns  of  John  Wesley  are  transla- 
tions from  this  older  master,  who,  in  a  higher  sense 
than  Wesley,  "learned  by  suffering  what  he  taught 
in  song."     Among  the  hymns  in  common  use  are : 

0  sacred  head  now  wounded. 
Extended  on  a  cursed  tree. 
Here  I  can  firmly  rest. 
Jesus,  thy  boundless  love  to  me. 
Commit  thou  all  thy  griefs. 
Give  to  the  winds  thy  fears. 

The  last  two  are  very  widely  known,  being  parts 
of  the  same  hymn  in  the  version  of  John  Wesley. 
The  original  was  born  of  suffering.  Gerhardt  had 
come  from  his  native  Saxony  to  be  pastor  of  a  church 
in  the  city  of  Berlin.  He  had  held  this  position  ten 
years,  when,  on  account  of  conflict  with  the  elector 
in  refusing  to  sign  a  pledge  wholly  to  abstain  from 
attacking  the  Reformed  doctrines,  he  was  ordered  to 
quit  the  country.  With  his  wife  and  little  children, 
he  set  out  on  foot  to  return  to  his  native  home.  The 
journey  was  long  and  toilsome,  and,  in  the  midst  of 
it,  having  stopped  one  night  at  a  humble  village  inn, 
his  wife's  heroism  completely  gave  way,  and  she 
broke  down  in  sobs  and  tears.  Sternly  crushing 
down  the  "climbing  sorrow"  in  his  own  breast,  Ger- 


214  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

hardt  spoke  only  words  of  cheer  and  confidence,  re- 
minding his  wife  of  God's  faithful  promise :  ^'  Trust 
in  the  Lord.  In  all  thy  ways  acknowledge  him,  and 
he  shall  direct  thy  paths/'  And  then,  in  this  dark 
hour  of  destitution  and  seeming  friendlessness,  with 
his  overburdened  wife  and  helpless  children  pressing 
upon  his  heart,  he  retired  to  an  arbor  in  the  garden 
and  composed  this  precious  hymn,  which  has  brought 
strength  and  comfort  to  so  many  fainting  souls  :^^^ 

**  Who  points  the  clouds  their  course, 
Whom  winds  and  seas  obey, 
He  shall  direct  thy  wandering  feet, 
He  shall  prepare  thy  way. 


Through  waves  and  clouds  and  storms 

He  gently  clears  thy  way ; 
Wait  thou  his  time,  so  shall  this  night 

Soon  end  in  joyous  day." 

The  sober  second  thought  of  the  elector,  and  the 
interest  of  his  noble  wife  in  behalf  of  the  banished 
minister,  resulted  in  his  recall;  but,  fearing  that  even 
his  silence  had  been  construed  into  a  promise  to 
change  the  character  of  his  preaching,  he  was  led  to 
make  a  new  declaration  of  his  views,  which  resulted 
in  his  permanent  banishment  from  Berlin.  Subse- 
quently he  was  made  Archbishop  of  Luebben,  w^here 
he  spent  the  last  seven  years  of  his  life.  But  they 
were  emphatically  years  of  sadness;  for  his  wdfe  was 
dead,  his  only  child  was  repeatedly  brought  to  death's 
door,  and  he  himself  toiled  on  in  the  midst  of  con- 
stantly increasing  infirmities.  His  refuge  and  re- 
freshment was  his  gift  of  song,  and  many  of  his 
beautiful    hymns    were    written    here.     The    popular 


HYMNS  FROM  GERMAN  AUTHORS.         215 

German  hymn,  ^'  Wake  up,  my  heart,  and  sing/^  was 
written  after  he  had  passed  a  night  of  anguish  on  the 
altar-steps  of  the  church  at  Luebben. 

Gerhardt  has  been  called  ''  the  prince  of  German 
hymn-writers/'  His  hymns  have  penetrated  all  ranks 
of  society,  and  into  the  company  of  all  classes  of 
worshipers,  and  are  eminently  songs  of  the  heart. 
The  mother  of  the  eminent  German  poet,  Schiller, 
taught  them  to  her  child,  and  some  of  them  continued 
to  be  favorites  with  him  during  his  life.  Doubtless 
these  hymns  must  be  recognized  as  one  factor,  and  it 
may  be  a  very  important  factor,  in  the  education  of 
him  who  has  been  pronounced,  next  to  Goethe,  the 
greatest  poet  of  Germany. 

The  excellent  hymn-version  of*the  Creed — 

We  all  believe  in  one  true  God — 

one  of  the  most-  perfect  compositions  of  the  kind  ever 
written,  and  specially  suited  for  use  on  sacramental 
occasions  and  fellowship  and  covenant  meetings,  was 
written  by  Rev.  Tobiah  Clausnitzer  (1619-1684.) 
He  was  educated  at  Leipsic,  was  sometime  chaplain 
of  the  Swedish  forces  during  the  "Thirty  Years' 
War,''  and  was  finally  settled  as  pastor  in  the  Pa- 
latinate. 

Of  the  two  Langes,  who  are  represented  in  the 
hymnology  of  this  period,  Ernest  (1650-1727)  was  a 
layman,  and  held  the  civil  office  of  burgomaster,  or 
chief  magistrate,  of  his  native  town  Dantzic.  In 
1710  the  town  was  visited  by  pestilence,  but  so 
marked  was  the  interposition  of  God  in  their  behalf, 
that  he  was  constrained  to  give  expression  to  his  grat- 


216  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

itude,  and  several  of  his  hymns  were  written  for  this 
purpose.  Two  of  his  hymns  were  translated  by  John 
Wesley,  and  are  in  common  use: 

0  God,  thou  bottomless  abyss. 

Thine,  Lord,  is  wisdom,  thine  alone. 

Joachim  Lange  (1670-1744)  was  theological  pro- 
fessor at  Halle,  and  one  of  the  earliest  representatives 
of  the  Pietistic  School  in  hymnology.  He  enjoyed 
the  personal  friendship  of  Francke,  celebrated  both 
as  a  philanthropist  and  writer  of  hymns.  The  hymns 
of  the  Hallean  Pietists  are  not  so  much  hymns  for 
the  people  and  for  public  worship,  as  for  the  individ- 
ual soul  and  for  the  closet.  They  abound  in  the 
richest  views  of  Christian  experience  and  life.  The 
best-known  hymn  of  Lange  was  translated  by  John 
Wesley,  and  is  of  very  high  merit : 

0  God,  what  offering  shall  I  give? 

In  the  same  year  with  Joachim  Lange  was  born 
Rev.  J.  Joseph  Winkler  (1670-1722),  who  was  for 
many  years  pastor  of  the  cathedral  of  Magdeburg. 
His  hymns  belong  to  this  same  Pietistic  School.  The 
two  which  are  in  universal  use,  and  are  among  the 
most  solemn  and  searching  among  those  specially 
suited  for  ministers,  are  : 

Shall  I,  for  fear  of  feeble  man  ? 

Savior  of  men,  thy  searching  eye. 

Rev.  Gottfried  Arnold  (1666-1714)  wrote  one 
hundred  and  thirty  hymns,  very  few  of  which,  how- 
ever, are  known  outside  of  Germany.     He  was  a  man 


HYMNS  FROM  GERMAN  AUTHORS.  217 

of  marked  and  positive  character,  and  his  sense  of 
fidelity  to  God  not  unfrequently  brought  him  into 
collision  with  men.  He  was  a  warmly  attached  friend 
of  the  eminent  Spener,  to  whose  influence  he  at- 
tributed his  own  quickening  into  spiritual  life.  His 
hymn — 

Well  for  him  who,  all  things  losing — 

is  one  of  the  finest  expressions  of  Christian  duty  and 
Christian  privilege  in  the  whole  range  of  hymnology. 
Few  hymn-writers  of  the  eighteenth  century  stand 
so  eminent  as  scholar,  preacher,  and  poet,  as  Johann 
Andreas  Rothe  (1688-1758).  For  many  years  he  was 
intimately  associated  with  the  famous  Count  Zinzen- 
dorf,  and  pastor  at  the  scarcely  less  celebrated  Hern- 
hutt.  He  wrote  a  learned  work  on  the  Hebrew  Bible. 
To  his  power  as  a  preacher  Count  Zinzendorf  bears 
most  emphatic  testimony:  ^^The  talents  of  Luther, 
Spener,  Francke,  and  Schwedler,  were  united  in  him.'^ 
Some  of  the  count^s  hymns  were  dedicated  to  him, 
and  he  dedicated  to  the  count  his  own  best-known 
hymn — 

Now  I  have  found  the  ground  wherein. 

This  hymn  is  specially  dear  to  Methodists,  not  only 
because  of  its  superior  merit,  but  also  because  of  the 
wealth  of  associations  which  cluster  about  it.  It  rep- 
resents the  Moravians,  who,  under  God,  were  instru- 
mental in  bringing  the  Wesleys  into  spiritual  life  and 
liberty.  It  was  translated  by  John  Wesley,  whose 
best  work  in  hymnology  consisted  in  bringing  the 
precious  spiritual  hymns  of  the  Germans  into  the 
English  language,  thus  making  them  accessible  to  the 

15 


218  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

multitudes,  of  which  he  became  the  spiritual  leader. 
Almost  the  last  words  of  Mr.  Fletcher,  of  Madeley, 
were  two  lines  from  the  second  verse  of  this  hymn : 

"While  Jesu's  blood,  through  earth  and  skies, 
Mercy — free,  boundless  mercy — cries." 

Few  hymns  in  any  language  are  so  full  of  devout 
and  tender  expression  as  those  of  Benjamin  Schmolke 
(1672-1737).  His  father  was  a  clergyman.  Benev- 
olent friends  assisted  him  to  enter  upon  his  studies  in 
the  University  of  Leipsic,  but  he  was  soon  able  to  do 
something  tow^ard  defraying  his  own  expenses  by  pub- 
lishing some  of  his  earlier  poems.  The  whole  number 
of  hymns  written  by  him  was  more  than  one  thou- 
sand. As  Rist  said  of  himself,  so  might  Schmolke 
say  :  "  The  dear  cross  has  pressed  many  songs  out  of 
me.''  He  was  the  subject  of  severe  and  extraordinary 
personal  afflictions.  A  destructive  conflagration,  which 
destroyed  half  the  town  in  which  he  lived,  involving 
the  people  in  great  suifering,  the  loss  of  two  of  his 
children  by  death,  his  own  hopeless  invalidism  by 
paralysis,  and  finally  his  total  blindness  from  the 
same  cause,  were  the  dark  background  with  which 
contrasts  the  radiant  glory  of  such  words  of  resigna- 
tion and  trust  as — 

"My  Jesus,  as  thou  wilt! 

0  may  thy  will  be  mine! 
Into  thy  hand  of  love 

1  would  my  all  resign. 
Through  sorrow,  or  through  joy, 

Conduct  me  as  thine  own, 
And  help  me  still  to  say, 
My  Lord,  thy  will  be  done." 


HYMNS  FROM  GERMAN  AUTHORS.         219 

The  best-known  hymns  of  Schmolke  are : 

Welcome,  thou  victor  in  the  strife. 

My  Jesus,  as  thou  wilt. 

Johann  A.  Scheffler — called  also  Angelas  Silesius — 
(1624-1677)  was  a  friend  of  the  famous  mystic,  Jacob 
Boehm.  He  w^as  at  first  a  Protestant,  but  later  a 
Catholic  priest,  and  a  zealous  controversialist.  Two 
of  his  hymns  were  translated  by  John  Wesley, 
namely : 

0  God,  of  good' the  unfathomed  sea. 

1  thank  thee.  Uncreated  Sun. (7) 

The  fourth  verse  of  this  latter  hymn  was  repeated  by 
Richard  Cobden  in  his  dying  hour: 

"Thee  will  I  love,  my  joy,  my  crown; 

Thee  will  I  love,  my  Lord,  my  God ; 
Thee  will  I  love,  beneath  thy  frown 

Or  smile,  thy  scepter  or  thy  rod. 
What  though  my  flesh  and  heart  decay; 
Thee  shall  I  love  in  endless  day." 

The  most  churchly  of  the  poets  of  the  older  Pie- 
tistic  School  was  the  Rev.  Johann  J.  Rambach 
(1693-1735),  professor  at  Giessen.  He  wrote  the 
hymn  : 

I  am  baptized  into  thy  name. 

Wolfgang  Christopher  Dessler  (1660-1722)  was 
head-master  of  the  grammar  school  at  Nuremberg, 
and  a  Pietist.     The  following  hymns  are  his; 

Into  thy  gracious  hands  I  fall. 

0  Friend  of  souls,  how  blest  the  time. 


220  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

The  version  of  the  first  of  these  was  made  by  John 
Wesley.  The  second,  though  less  known,  has  yet 
some  marked  felicities  of  expression : 

"When  from  my  weariness  I  climb 
Into  thy  tender  breast." 

"  And  when  life's  fiercest  storms  are  sent 
Upon  life's  wildest  sea, 
My  little  bark  is  confident, 
Because  it  holdeth  thee." 

In  the  same  class  of  Hallean  Pietists  is  Rev. 
Christian  Friedrich  Richter  (1676-1711),  who  was 
physician  to  Francke's  celebrated  orphan-house  in 
Halle,  and  author  of  thirty-three  excellent  hymns. 
The  following  are  John  Wesley's  versions  of  two  of 
them  : 

My  soul  before  thee  prostrate  lies. 

Thou  Lamb  of  God,  thou  Prince  of  Peace. 

The  great  poet  in  the  Mystical  School  in  German 
hymnology  was  Gerhard  Tersteegen  (1697-1761). 
From  Catherine  Winkworth's  "  Christian  Singers  of 
Germany ''  we  condense  the  following  account  of  this 
most  remarkable  and  interesting  man.  He  was  the 
son  of  a  respectable  tradesman,  and  after  such  educa- 
tion as  he  could  get  at  the  grammar-school  of  his 
native  place,  was  apprenticed  to  his  elder  brother,  a 
shopkeeper  at  Muelheim.  Here,  under  the  influence 
of  a  tradesman,  he  was  converted,  and  was  led  to 
devote  himself  to  the  service  of  God.  As  his  days 
were  occupied,  he  used  sometimes  to  pass  whole 
nights  in  prayer  and  fasting.  That  he  might  have 
more    freedom    for    spiritual    exercises,    he    left    his 


HYMNS  FROM  GERMAN  AUTHORS.         221 

brother,  and  took  up  the  occupation  of  weaving  silk 
ribbons,  living  for  some  years  entirely  alone  in  a 
cottage,  except  that  in  the  day-time  he  had  the  com- 
pany of  the  little  girl  who  wound  his  silk  for  him. 
His  relations — w4io  seem  to  have  been  a  thriving  and 
money-getting  set  of  people — were  so  ashamed  of  this 
poor  and  peculiar  member  of  the  family  that  they  re- 
fused even  to  hear  his  name  mentioned,  and  when  he 
was  sick  he  suffered  great  privations  for  want  of 
care. 

His  spiritual  experiences  were  at  first  marked  by 
violent  contrasts.  Upon  the  peace  and  comfort  of  his 
early  Christian  life  a  season  of  darkness  supervened, 
and  for  five  years  he  was  the  subject  of  extreme 
and  painful  doubts.  From  this  fearful  dungeon  in 
"Doubting  Castle''  he  was  suddenly  and  gloriously 
delivered,  and  in  his  gratitude  wrote  with  his  own 
blood  a  new  covenant  of  self-dedication.  He  began 
at  once  to  devote  himself  to  the  spiritual  welfare  cf 
those  about  him.  Soon  he  found  himself  entirely  oc- 
cupied with  a  sort  of  unofficial  ministry,  which  speed- 
ily took  permanent  form,  and  became  his  life-work. 
Peremptorily  declining  all  pecuniary  assistance,  he 
opened  a  dispensary  for  his  support,  making  it  a 
means  of  ministering  to  the  souls  as  well  as  the  bodies 
of  men.  So  famous  did  he  become  in  this  double 
ministry  that  people  came  to  him  from  other  lands — 
England,  Holland,  Sweden,  and  Switzerland — so  that 
he  found  his  strength  and  resources  taxed  to  their 
utmost.  But  amid  it  all  he  maintained  an  unvary- 
ing humility,  affectionateness,  devoutness,  and  sim- 
plicity. 


222  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOG Y. 

From  such  a  life  none  but  the  most  spiritual 
hymns  could  come,  and  Tersteegen^s  are  highly  and 
justly  prized/^^     Among  them  are  : 

Lo !  God  is  here!     Let  us  adore. 
God  calling  yet!    Shall  I  not  hear? 
Thou  hidden  love  of  God,  whose  height. 
O  Thou  to  whose  all- searching  sight. 
Though  all  the  world  my  choice  deride. 

Three  of  the  above,  like  so  many  others  of  the 
choicest  and  most  spiritual  German  hymns  of  the 
seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  are  versions  by 
John  Wesley. 

One  of  the  most  saintly  of  the  many  saints  of  Prot- 
estantism was  John  Frederick  Oberlin  (1740-1826). 
Though  the  sphere  of  his  personal  labors  was  exceed- 
ingly restricted,  the  sphere  of  his  influence  is  world- 
wide. He  stands  before  us  as  a  notable  illustration 
of  what  a  Christian  pastor,  who  devotes  himself  un- 
qualifiedly to  his  work  in  the  spirit  of  the  Master, 
may  do.  By  his  wonderful  influence  the  words  of 
Isaiah  were  more  than  fulfilled — "'  The  desert  shall 
rejoice  and  blossom  as  the  rose  '^ — for  that  rugged  and 
sterile  mountainous  parish  of  Steinthal,  with  its  igno- 
rant, degraded,  and  unprosperous  inhabitants,  became 
a  scene  of  thrift,  purity,  and  prosperity.  One  morn- 
ing, after  preaching  from  the  text,  '•'•  He  shall  see  of 
the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  shall  be  satisfied,''  he  made 
an  earnest  appeal  to  his  hearers  to  devote  themselves 
entirely  to  God,  and  then  read  a  hymn,  in  which  he 
asked  the  whole  congregation  to  join  him.  It  was  this  : 
O  Lord,  thy  heavenly  grace  impart. 


HYMNS  FROM  GERMAN  AUTHORS.         223 

Two  famous  Moravians,  both  bishops,  made  very 
material  contributions  to  the  hymnology  of  this  pe- 
riod— Count  Zinzendorf  and  Bishop  Spangenberg. 
The  history  of  Nicolaus  Ludwig  Zinzendorf  (1700- 
1 760)  is  too  well  known  to  require  any  sketch  of  it 
here.  In  an  eminent  sense  he  stands  in  church  his- 
tory and  in  hymnology  as  a  representative  Moravian, 
having  renounced  his  civil  honors  and  cares  to  devote 
himself  to  the  religious  work  of  the  Moravian  Breth- 
ren. The  hymns  *^^^  by  which  he  is  best  known  are 
all  in  versions  made  by  John  Wesley : 

Eternal  depth  of  love  divine. 

Jesus,  thy  blood  and  righteousness. 

I  thirst,  thou  wounded  Lamb  of  God. 

The  last  of  these  is  very  familiar  and  very  precious 
to  all  who  look  to  Wesley  as  their  spiritual  father. 
The  second  was  written  on  the  island  of  Saint  Eusta- 
tius  on  his  return  from  visiting  the  Moravian  mis- 
sionaries in  the  West  Indies. 

Bishop  Aug.  Gottlieb  Spangenberg  (1704-1792) 
is  second  only  to  Count  Zinzendorf  himself  in  the 
history  of  the  Moravian  church,  and  was  greatly  his 
superior  in  theological  culture.  Educated  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Jena  w^hen  the  distinguished  Buddaeus  was 
professor  in  that  institution,  he  gave  such  brilliant 
promise  as  to  be  himself  employed  as  a  lecturer  in 
the  university  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-two,  which 
place  he  held  for  six  years.  In  1735  he  became  an 
assistant  of  Zinzendorf  at  Herrnhut,  and  acted  as  a 
kind  of  missionary  bishop  to  the  Moravian  churches 
in   England,   the  West   Indies,   and  North   America. 


224  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

In  Georgia  he  came  in  contact  with  John  Wesley, 
who  had  gone  out  with  Oglethorpe  as  a  missionary  to 
the  Aborigines.  The  meeting  was  a  most  memo- 
rable one  for  Wesley,  and  was  one  important  means 
of  bringing  him  to  a  realizing  sense  of  his  great  want. 
Wesley  had  sought  an  interview  with  Spangenburg 
to  consult  with  him  as  to  the  best  plans  of  mission- 
ary work. 

^^  My  brother/'  said  the  Moravian,  ^^  I  must  first 
ask  you  one  or  two  questions.  Have  you  the  witness 
within  yourself?  Does  the  Spirit  of  God  bear  wit- 
ness with  your  spirit  that  you  are  a  child  of  God?'' 

Wesley  was  surprised,  and  knew  not  what  to  an- 
swer. Spangenberg  perceived  his  embarrassment  and 
asked:  "Do  you  know  Jesus  Christ?"  Wesley  re- 
plied :  "  I  know  he  is  the  Savior  of  the  world." 
"  True/'  rejoined  the  Moravian ;  "  but  do  you  know 
he  has  saved  you?"  '^  I  hope  he  has  died  to  save 
me."  Spangenberg  only  added :  "  Do  you  know 
yourself?"  "  I  do,"  responded  Wesley ;  "  but/'  he 
writes,  "  I  fear  they  were  vain  words." 

This  good  bishop  is  represented  in  English  hym- 
nology  by  John  Wesley's  version  of  one  of  his  very 
choicest  hymns,  such  as,  indeed,  a  bishop  might  write: 
High  on  his  everlasting  throne. 

Other  German  writers  whose  hymns  are  frequently 
met   with   in    the   collections   are    Matthias   Claudius 
(1740-1815),  author  of  that  best   of  harvest  hymns. 
We  plow  the  fields  and  scatter/ ^o) 

and  Rev.  Carl  Johann  P.  Spitta  (1801-1859)  one  of 
the  many  modern  Christian  poets  in  Germany,  whose 


HYMNS  FROM  GERMAN  AUTHORS.         225 

hymns  are  characterized  by  depth,  inwardness,  fresh- 
ness, and  catholicity.     He  wrote  : 

I  know  no  life  divided. 

The  precious  seed  of  weeping.(ii) 

About  three-quarters  of  a  century  ago,  in  the 
midst  of  a  severe  naval  battle,  the  deck  of  the  ship 
commanded  by  Captain  James  Haldane,  was  fairly 
swept  clean  by  the  broadside  of  the  enemy.  He  or- 
dered up  another  company  from  below,  to  take  the 
place  of  the  dead.  As  they  came  upon  the  deck, 
slippery  with  blood  and  strewn  with  mangled  corses, 
a  sudden  and  irresistible  panic  seized  them.  The 
captain,  swearing  a  horrid  oath,  wished  them  to  hell. 
A  pious  old  marine  stepped  up  to  him,  and,  respect- 
fully touching  his  cap,  said :  ^^  Captain,  I  believe 
God  hears  prayer,  and  if  he  were  to  hear  yours  what 
would  become  of  us?''  These  words,  spoken  in  that 
terrible  hour,  were  as  a  nail  fastened  in  a  sure  place, 
and  as  a  result  this  profane  captain  became  a  Chris- 
tian and  a  minister  of  the  gospel.  Through  his  in- 
strumentality his  brother  Robert  was  also  led  to 
Christ,  and  he,  in  turn,  was  selected  by  Providence 
as  a  minister  of  life  to  that  old  city  of  Geneva,  where 
the  poison  of  French  infidelity  and  German  ration- 
alism had  well-nigh  destroyed  the  life  of  the  church 
of  the  Reformation.  Mr.  Haldane's  labors  were 
specially  directed  to  the  students  of  the  theological 
seminary,  and  among  the  fruits  of  them  were  such 
men  as  Merle  D'Aubigne,  Felix  NefF,  Adolphe 
Monod,  and  others  of  similar  distinction.  Among 
the   fruits  of  that   revival   must   also    be    mentioned 


226  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

Caesar  Henri  Abraham  Malan  (1787-1864),  who  was 
at  that  time  •  a  young  pastor  in  the  city.  He  had 
previously  been  awakened  to  a  sense  of  his  spiritual 
need  by  the  influence  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mason,  of  New 
York,  who  had  visited  Geneva.  It  was  Mr.  Haldane, 
however,  who  led  him  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Savior. 
He  began  at  once  to  preach  the  doctrines  of  grace 
with  an  earnestness  and  plainness  such  as  was  not 
wont  to  be  seen  in  that  old  city,  so  rich  in  historic 
memories,  but  now  fallen  into  the  deadness  and  for- 
malities of  rationalism. 

A  special  interest  attaches  to  the  memory  of  Dr. 
Malan  as  the  instrument,  under  God,  of  leading  the 
soul  of  Charlotte  Elliott  into  life  and  liberty,  and  so 
of  giving  to  the  world  one  of  the  very  best  hymns 
which  this  century  has  produced :  ^'  Just  as  I  am.'^ 
He  was  the  author  of  the  French  original  of  Dr. 
Bethune's  hymn. 

It  is  not  death  to  die.(i2) 

Another   version   of  this  same   hymn,   not,  however, 
from  the  French  original,  but  from  an  excellent  Ger- 
man version,  has  been  made  by  Professor  E,.  B.  Dunn, 
of  Brown  University.     It  commences: 
No,  no,  it  is  not  dying.^^i^) 

To  Dr.  Malan  we  are  also  indebted  for  several  excel- 
lent church  tunes,  such  as  Rosefield,  Hendon,  and 
Welton.  He  was  a  man  of  marked  individuality  of 
character;  and,  by  this  precious  funeral  hymn  and 
these  tunes,  and  especially  his  noble  example  of 
Christian  courage  and  fidelity,  he  has  laid  the  church 
under  lasting  obligations  to  his  memory. 


EARLIER  ENGLISH  HYMNS.  ITl 


CHAPTER  VI. 

EARLIER   ENGLISH   HYMNS. 

IN  many  important  particulars  English  hymns  are 
distinguished  from  those  of  every  other  language. 
Many  of  them  are  translations  of  the  best  and  most 
famous  hymns  of  other  tongues.  Nearly  all  the  great 
hymns  of  the  medieval  time  are  represented  by  En- 
glish versions.  This  is  true,  also,  of  the  most  cher- 
ished and  most  spiritual  of  the  French  and  German 
hymns.  The  great  body  of  English  hymns  have  been 
produced  in  the  modern  period  of  church  history, 
and  hence  reflect  the  most  recent  phases  of  church 
life  and  work.  As  among  English-speaking  peoples 
evangelical  movements  have  taken  a  greater  variety 
of  form,  and  have  incorporated  more  various  methods 
than  have  been  employed  elsewhere,  so  here  the  hymn 
has  been  appropriated  to  a  greater  variety  of  uses. 
In  addition  to  the  ordinary  demands  of  public 
worship  and  the  necessities  of  the  'individual  life, 
which,  though  they  do  not  essentially  change,  are  yet 
all  the  time  becoming  more  perfectly  interpreted  and 
more  adequately  expressed,  there  are  many  institu- 
tions which  have  been  called  into  existence  by  the 
life  of  the  church  in  this  period.  The  modern  prayer- 
meeting,  revival  meetings,  conferences,  conventions, 
synods.  Sabbath-schools,  and  reform  movements,  have 


228  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

all  created  a  demand  for  a  special  type  of  religious 
service.  Hence,  in  no  other  language  is  there  so  great 
a  variety  of  hymns;  in  no  other  has  the  hymn  been 
more  perverted  and  degraded  from  its  proper  char- 
acter; and  in  no  other  is  the  vast  and  varied  wealth 
of  hymnology  more  fully  exhibited. 

The  oldest  English  hymn  now  in  common  use — 
"The  Lord  descended  from  above'' -^^ — is  a  transla- 
tion of  some  verses  of  the  Eighteenth  Psalm,  made 
by  Thomas  Sternhold,  who  died  in  1549.  He  was 
"Groom  of  the  Robes''  to  Henry  VIII  and  Edward 
VI.  He  made  a  metrical  version  of  the  first  fifty-one 
Psalms,  which,  with  versions  of  the  remainder  made 
by  John  Hopkins,  were  attached  to  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer.  As  to  the  character  of  these  men, 
as  shown  by  this  work,  doubtless  the  judgment  of 
quaint  old  Thomas  Fuller  will  be  generally  approved : 
"  They  were  men  whose  piety  was  better  than  their 
poetry;  and  they  had  drunk  more  of  Jordan  than  of 
Helicon.''  And  yet  the  psalm  above  cited  fully  vin- 
dicates, by  its  own  ii^trinsic  excellence,  the  taste  and 
judgment  of  those  who  have  so  long  kept  it  in  its 
seat  of  honor. 

With  this  should  be  associated  that  translation  of 
the  One  Hundredth  Psalm  made  by  William  Kethe: 

All  people  that  on  earth  do  dwell. ^2) 

Of  its  author  we  know  almost  nothing,  not  even  the 
dates  of  his  birth  and  death.  He  was  a  clergyman, 
was  sometime  a  chaplain  in  the  army,  and  shared  the 
exile  of  Knox,  in  Geneva,  in  1555.  The  psalm  was 
first   published   in    1561,  and  is  not  only  one  of  the 


EARLIER  ENGLISH  HYMNS.  229 

oldest,  but  also  one  of  the  most  ecumenical  of  En- 
glish hymns.  It  was  used  at  the  opening  of  the  recent 
Pan-Presbyterian  Council  in  Scotland  (1877,)  and  also 
was  the  opening  hymn  of  the  Church  Congress  of 
Episcopalians  in  Boston,  in  1876.  The  clearness  and 
archaic  simplicity  of  the  version  atone  for  its  rugged- 
ness;  and  when  we  call  to  mind  the  grand  and  heroic 
history  of  these  Scottish  Dissenters,  of  which  these 
old  psalms  are  in  a  special  sense  monumental,  we  can 
well  understand  why  it  should  have  a  place  of  high 
honor  in  our  hymnals. 

Among  these  psalms,  used  by  those  Scottish  sects 
who  are  opposed  to  the  use  of  ordinary  hymns,  are 
not  a  few  which  are  acceptable  to  all  who  ^^  profess 
and  call  themselves  Christians  ,'^  such  for  instance  as : 

O  God,  to  us  show  mercy. 

The  Lord's  my  shepherd;  I'll  not  want.^-^) 

The  associations  connected  with  this  last  are  pecul- 
iarly interesting.  It  was  a  favorite  channel  through 
which  the  sturdy  Scotch  people  of  the  olden  time 
poured  out  their  souls  to  God  in  assured  and  grateful 
confidence.  It  was  the  language  of  individual  trust, 
it  beautifully  befitted  the  worship  of  the  home,  and 
yet  was  equally  in  place  in  the  great  congregation. 
It  was  linked  with  the  earliest  memories  of  childhood, 
and  it  was  the  "strong  stafiF  and  the  beautiful  rod^' 
of  the  aged  pilgrim.  In  Professor  Wilson's  touching 
little  story  of  Moss  Side,  when  Gilbert  Ainslie's  little 
Margaret  was  hovering  between  life  and  death,  in  the 
delirium  of  her  fever,  she  kept  muttering  words  which 
showed  that  she   thought  herself  "herding  her  sheep 


230  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

in  the  green,  silent  pastures,  and  sitting  wrapped  in 
her  plaid  upon  the  lawn  and  sunny-side  of  Birk- 
Knowe."  At  last,  when  she  was  almost  exhausted, 
and  there  was  ^'  too  little  breath  in  her  heart  to  frame 
a  tune,'^  with  her  blue  eyes  shut  and  her  lips  almost 
still,  she  breathed  out  these  lines  of  sweet  and  restful 
confidence : 

"The  Lord's  my  Shepherd;  I'll  not  want; 
He  makes  me  down  to  lie 
In  pastures  green ;  he  leadeth  me 
The  quiet  waters  by." 

The  name  of  Bishop  John  Cosin  (1594-1672)  is 
deserving  of  most  honorable  mention,  because  of  his 
translation  of  the  "  Veni,  Creator  Spiritus  ^^ — "  Come, 
Holy  Ghost,  our  souls  inspire.''  ^^^  Few  men  of  his 
time  held  a  greater  variety  of  distinguished  positions, 
or  received  more  flattering  testimonials  of  personal 
popularity  and  influence.  Though  made  to  feel  the 
virulent  opposition  of  his  Puritan  enemies,  and  to 
suffer  from  their  unjust  charges  of  leaning  toward 
popery,  yet  he  stands  in  the  history  of  the  church 
fully  vindicated,  and  a  noble  example  of  a  man  true 
to  the  church,  and  true  also  to  his  own  convictions. 
He  expended  his  emoluments,  and  the  profits  arising 
from  the  sale  of  his  works,  liberally  for  the  cause  of 
learning  and  religion,  founding  no  less  than  eight 
scholarships  at  Cambridge.  His  one  hymn  has  a 
higher  place  of  honor  than  any  other  in  our  language, 
having  for  two  centuries  and  a  half  maintained  its 
place  in  the  service  for  the  ordination  of  elders.  It 
is  a  most  satisfactory  instance  of  ^^  poetic  justice,''  in 
a  sense   much   fuller   and   more  perfect   than  that  in 


EARLIER  ENGLISH  HYMNS.  231 

which  the  phrase  is  ordinarily  used,  that  the  hymn  of 
Gregory,  who  taught  Britain  her  first  lesson  in  prac- 
tical Christianity,  should  be  the  only  one  which  has 
been  given  a  place  in  the  ritual  of  the  English  church. 
Another  bishop,  whose  hymns  have  come  to  almost 
equal  honor,  and  in  some  regards  even  superior,  is 
Thomas  Ken  (1637-1711).  Early  left  an  orphan — 
his  mother  dying  when  he  was  but  five  and  his  father 
when  he  was  fourteen — he  was  brought  up  by  his 
half-sister,  the  wife  of  the  celebrated  Isaac  Walton. 
He  was  educated  at  Oxford ;  was  first  rector  of  Bright- 
stone,  in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  and  afterwards  bishop  of 
Bath  and  Wells.  King  Charles  used  to  say :  "  I  must 
go  and  hear  Ken — he  will  tell  me  of  my  faults.'^  He 
was  one  of  the  seven  bishops  imprisoned  and  brought 
to  trial  for  resisting  the  tyranny  of  James  II.  His 
most  enduring  monument  is  his  "Morning  and  Even- 
ing Hymns."  Says  one  writer:  "Had  he  endowed 
three  hospitals  he  would  have  been  less  a  benefactor 
to  posterity."  His  grand  old  Doxology  in  long  meter 
is  heard  wherever  the  English  language  is  spoken. 
It  is  almost  as  catholic  as  the  English  Bible  itself. 
The  following  hymns  are  his: 

Glory  to  thee,  my  God,  this  night. 
Awake,  my  soul,  and  with  the  sun. 
Praise  God,  from  whom  all  blessings  flow/i) 

The  three  great  names  in  modern  literature  are 
Dante,  Shakspeare,  and  Milton.  But  of  the  works 
of  these  three  illustrious  men,  those  of  Milton  stand 
forth  as  most  evidently  and  unqualifiedly  the  product 
of  a  Christian   culture.     It  is,  therefore,  a  matter  of 


232  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

special  satisfaction  to  recognize  in  the  hymnology  of  the 
English  church  the  name  of  John  Milton  (1608-1704). 
Some  of  his  best-known  hymns  are : 

Let  us  with  a  gladsome  mind  ; 

How  lovely  are  thy  dwellings,  Lord ; 

The  Lord  will  come,  and  not  be  slow ; 

which  will  be  recognized  as  versions  of  the  136th, 
the  84th,  and  selected  verses  of  the  82d,  85th,  and 
86th  Psalms. 

By  the  side  of  his  should  be  placed  the  scarcely 
less  illustrious  name  of  Joseph  Addison  (1672-1719). 
He  was  the  son  of  the  dean  of  Lichfield,  was  edu- 
cated at  Oxford  University,  and  married  to  the  dow- 
ager countess  of  Warwick.  As  a  w^riter  of  English 
prose  he  had  no  equal  in  his  own  time,  and  few  equals 
in  any  time.  ^^  Whoever  wishes  to  attain  an  English 
style,"  says  Dr.  Johnson,  ^^  familiar  but  not  coarse, 
and  elegant  but  not  ostentatious,  must  give  his  days 
and  nights  to  the  volumes  of  Addison."  And  though 
he  has  been  described  as  ""  so  great  in  prose,  so  little 
in  poetry,"  yet  we  have  only  to  examine  the  little 
poetry  by  which  he  is  represented  in  the  world  of 
letters,  to  be  convinced  how  merciless  and  unjust  this 
criticism  is.  Few  finer  passages  can  be  quoted  from 
any  writer  of  Addison's  time  than  the  closing  lines 
of  Cato's  Soliloquy  : 

"  The  stars  shall  fade  away ;  the  sun  himself 
Grow  dim  with  age,  and  nature  sink  in  years; 
But  thou  shalt  flourish  in  immortal  youth, 
Unhurt  amid  tlie  war  of  elements, 
The  wreck  of  matter,  and  the  crush  of  worlds." 


EARLIER  ENGLISH  HYMNS.  233 

He  is  represented   by  such   hymns   as  the  following, 
each  of  which  is  a  real  gem  of  its  kind : 

The  spacious  firmament  on  high. 
When  all  thy  mercies,  O  my  God. 
The  Lord  my  pasture  shall  prepare. 
When  rising  from  the  bed  of  death. 
How  are  thy  servants  blest,  O  Lord.'*^) 

Rev.  Richard  Baxter  (1615-1691),  well  known  as 
the  author  of  "  The  Saints'  Rest,''  was  an  eminent 
Non-conformist  minister.  He  was  born  at  Rowton, 
Shropshire;  became  pastor  of  the  parish  of  Kidder- 
minster, where  he  was  greatly  popular  and  useful; 
afterward  chaplain  of  a  regiment  among  the  Parlia- 
mentary forces,  during  which  time  he  wrote  his 
"Saints'  Rest;"  returned  to  Kidderminster,  but  was 
soon  ejected  by  the  Act  of  Uniformity ;  went  to  reside 
in  London,  where  he  occupied  himself  in  preaching 
and  writing,  until  he  was  arrested  on  a  charge  of  se- 
dition, and  brought  before  the  infamous  Jeffreys,  by 
whom  he  was  adjudged  to  pay  a  heavy  fine,  and 
thrown  into  prison.  His  life  was  filled  with  activity 
and  usefulness,  and  he  enjoyed  the  friendship  of  some 
of  the  best  men  of  his  time — such  as  Matthew  Henry, 
and  others.  Though  he  attained  to  a  good  old  age, 
his  whole  life  was  one  constant  and  severe  struggle 
with  disease;  and  the  hymns  by  which  he  is  known 
may  well  be  added  to  the  long  list  of  those  which 
have  come  up  "out  of  the  depths."  In  his  final  ill- 
ness he  was  accustomed  to  reply  to  those  who  called 
to  inquire  after  him,  "Almost  well,"  and  in  his  death- 

16 


234  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

hour  he  became  "entirely  well/^  The  process  of 
dying  was  to  him,  as  to  all  God's  saints,  the  process 
of  becoming  immortal.     His  best-known  hymn  is  : 

Lord,  it  belongs  not  to  my  care.*^^) 

How  reasonable  and  consoling  the  first  couplet  in  the 
third  verse — 

"  Christ  leads  me  through  no  darker  rooms 
Than  he  went  through  before!" 

And  how  satisfying  the  final  lines  of  the  hymn — 

"But  'tis  enough  that  Christ  knows  all, 
And  I  shall  be  with  him!" 

Though  the  name  of  Nahum  Tate  (165L»-1715)  is 
eminent  in  English  hymnology,  yet  the  associations 
connected  with  it  are  not  all  grateful.  His  active  life 
commenced  as  clergyman  of  a  country  parish  in  Suf- 
folk, from  which  he  subsequently  removed  to  London. 
But  intemperance  and  improvidence  cast  a  blight 
over  his  life  and  a  shadow  upon  his  memory.  In 
connection  with  Nicholas  Brady,  he  prepared  the  met- 
rical version  of  the  Psalms,  which  is  now  printed  in 
the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  in  place  of  the  older 
one  of  Sternhold  and  Hopkins,  which  version  Mont- 
gomery justly  characterizes  as  being  "  nearly  as  inani- 
mate as  the  former,  though  a  little  more  refined." 
Nicholas  Brady  (1659-1 7ii(3),  his  associate  in  this 
work,  studied  at  Christ  College,  Oxford,  and  gradu- 
ated at  Trinity  College,  Dublin.  He  was  afterward 
chaplain  to  a  bishop  and  prebend  to  the  Cathedral 
of  Cork,  and  later  in  life  taught  a  school  in  Rich- 
mond, Surrey. 


EARLIER  ENGLISH  HYMNS.  235 

The  Psalter  of  Tate  and  Brady  was  first  published 
in  1696,  with  tunes  in  1698,  and  with  a  supplement 
of  hymns  in  1703.  From  this  work  several  hymns 
in  common  use  have  been  taken,  though  it  is  impos- 
sible to  determine  which  were  written  by  Tate  and 
which  by  Brady.     Among  them  are  the  following: 

O  render  thanks  to  God  above. 

0  God,  we  praise  thee,  and  confess. 

While  shepherds  watched  their  flocks  by  night. 

As  pants  the  hart  for  cooling  streams. 

O  Lord,  our  fathers  oft  have  told. 

A  very  choice  evening  hymn  has  come  down  to 
us  from  this  seventeenth  century,  written  by  John  F. 
Herzog  (1649-1699): 

In  mercy,  Lord,  remember  me. 

One  of  the  really  distinguished  philosophers  of 
England's  early  time  was  Henry  More  (died  1687),  one 
of  the  first  Fellows  of  the  Royal  Society;  friend  of 
the  eminent  Cudworth;  defender  of  the  philosophical 
system  of  Descartes,  with  whom  he  maintained  a 
personal  correspondence;  and  opponent  of  the  famous 
Thomas  Hobbes,  Avho  died  eight  years  before  him. 
He  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Cambridge,  but  re- 
fused the  mastership  in  his  college,  as  also  all  church 
preferment,  and  devoted  himself  with  much  enthu- 
siasm to  the  study  of  philosophy.  He  was  the  author 
of  the  hymn — 

On  all  the  earth  thy  Spirit  shower.^'') 


236  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

Even  at  this  day  the  thoughtful  student  can  hardly 
take  into  his  hands  a  book  more  suggestive  or  more 
stimulating  than  Mason's  '^  Self-Knowledge/'  In 
depth,  solidity,  clearness,  and  comprehensivenes,  it 
has  few  equals  in  our  language.  The  young  person 
who  makes  it  the  subject  of  constant  and  loving  study 
is  sure  to  be  richly  rewarded.  John  Mason,  the 
hymn  writer  (died  1694),  was  grandfather  of  the  John 
Mason  who  was  the  author  of  this  treatise.  Little  is 
known  of  his  life,  save  that  for  twenty  years  he  was 
rector  of  a  parish  in  Buckinghamshire,  where  he  was 
very  highly  esteemed  for  his  piety  and  his  devotion 
to  his  flock.  Baxter  called  him  ^Hhe  glory  of  the 
Church  of  England.''  In  1683  he  published  his 
*'  Spiritual  Songs,"  to  which  were  afterwards  added 
^^  Penitential  Cries,"  mainly  from  the  pen  of  Rev. 
Thomas  Shepherd.  Many  traces  of  these  hymns  of 
Mason  are  found  in  the  later  works  of  Watts,  Pope, 
and  the  Wesleys.  Of  the  one  hymn  of  his  which  is 
most  used,  David  Creamer  says  that  it  is  ^^  certainly 
one  of  the  best  specimens  of  devotional  poetry  in  the 
English  language."     The  hymn  is — 

Now  from  the  altar  of  our  hearts. 

One  hymn  from  the  "Penitential  Cries"  of 
Thomas  Shepherd  (1665-1739)  has  been  preserved  in 
most  of  our  modern  hymn-books,  though  in  a  form 
so  much  changed  from  the  original  as  almost  to  de- 
stroy its  identity.  Indeed,  in  most  books  the  hymn 
is  credited  to  Mr.  G.  N.  Allen,  who  made  the  altera- 
tions, rather  than  to  Mr.  Shepherd,  the  original  author. 
It  begins — 

Must  Jesus  bear  the  cross  alone  ?(8) 


EARLIER  ENGLISH  HYMNS.  237 

The  earliest  of  the  considerable  number  of  Bap- 
tists who  have  been  eminent  as  English  hymn-writers 
is  Joseph  Stennett  (1663-1713),  who  spent  his  life  as 
pastor  of  a  small  congregation  of  Seventh-day  Bap- 
tists in  the  city  of  London.  He  was  also  accustomed 
to  preach  to  other  congregations  on  the  first  day  of 
the  week,  which  makes  it  pretty  certain  that  his  sym- 
pathy with  his  people  was  as  Baptists,  rather  than  as 
Sabbatarians.  In  addition  to  his  duties  as  pastor,  he 
also,  for  some  years,  received  young  men  into  his 
house  to  be  trained  for  the  ministry.  He  died  in  his 
forty-ninth  year,  and  among  his  last  words  were ;  ^^  I 
rejoice  in  the  God  of  my  salvation,  who  is  my  strength 
and  my  God."  He  published  two  small  collections 
of  original  hymns — "Hymns  for  the  Lord's  Supper" 
and  '^  Hymns  on  the  Believer's  Baptism."  His  famil- 
iar hymn — 

Return,  my  soul,  enjoy  thy  rest — 

is  one  of  the    most   frequently  used  of  our   Sabbath 
hymns. 

No  name  appears  in  a  Christian  hymn-book  with 
more  grotesque  effect  than  that  of  Alexander  Pope 
(1688-1744).  Probably  few  men  have  ever  acquired 
an  eminent  literary  reputation  who  have  been  more 
utterly  incapable  of  appreciating  an  evangelical  ex- 
perience. Born  of  Catholic  parentage;  acquiring  the 
smatterings  of  an  education  at  Catholic  schools,  until, 
at  the  age  of  twelve,  he  entered  on  the  perilous  path 
of  self-culture ;  with  a  nature  deformed  and  diseased ; 
diminutive  in  stature  and  irritable  in  disposition  ;  with 
much  of  the  critical  but  little  of  the  creative  faculty  ; 
with    an  extraordinary  facility  for  measured  smooth- 


238  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

ness,  but  showing  little  consciousness  of  the  essence 
and  soul  of  true  poetry ;  having  little  contact  with 
evangelical  beliefs,  and  an  utter  stranger,  so  far  as  can 
now  be  told,  to  evangelical  experiences, — it  were  indeed 
strange  if  he  had  written  a  true  Christian  hymn. 
Many  of  his  poetic  utterances  reflect  that  extreme 
naturalism  which  amounts  substantially  to  Deism,  and 
so  are  at  the  farthest  possible  remove  from  the  warmth 
and  life  of  the  Christian  religion.  He  is  represented 
in  many  of  our  collections  by  his  "  Dying  Christian  " — 

Vital  spark  of  heavenly  flame/-" 

It  seems  to  have  been  suggested  by  the  Emperor 
Adrian's  Address  to  His  Soul,  as  also  by  a  fragment 
of  Sappho.  Even  for  the  Engh'sh  of  the  poem  he  is, 
to  some  extent,  indebted  to  an  earlier  rendering  of 
Adrian's  words  by  Thomas  Flatman.  As  a  specimen 
of  literature  it  is  not  without  interest,  but  it  is  very 
far  from  being  a  hymn.  It  is  utterly  destitute  of 
warmth  and  devoutness,  and  dramatizes,  as  if  for  mere 
literary  eifect,  the  holy  experiences  of  the  dying  hour. 
That  it  has  so  long  been  accorded  a  place  in  our 
hymn-books  is  an  unmistakable  tribute  to  its  rare 
beauty;  but  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  it  is  now 
very  generally  omitted  from  the  latest  collections. 

There  is  one  English  hymn,  dating  probably  from 
the  sixteenth  century,  whose  history  is  specially  inter- 
esting. It  comes  from  an  old  Latin  hymn,  which 
Dean  Trench  assigns  to  the  eighth  or  ninth  century. 
We  refer  to  that  dearest  of  all  our  hymns  on  heaven — 

Jerusalem,  my  happy  home.^^o) 


EARLIER  ENGLISH  HYMNS.  239 

lu  a  very  old  book  of  religious  songs,  now  kept  in 
the  British  Museum,  it  stands  with  this  title — '^A 
Song,  Made  by  F.  B.  P.,  to  the  Tune  of  Diana.''  It 
has  been  conjectured — doubtfully  by  most,  but  confi- 
dently by  some — that  "  F.  B.  P.''  is  an  alias  for 
Francis  Baker,  Priest,  who  was  for  a  long  time  con- 
fined as  a  prisoner  in  the  Tower,  and  so  that  this  is 
one  of  the  many  hymns  which  have  come  up  out  of 
the  depth  of  sufi'ering  and  bitter  wrong.  A  later  and 
more  beautiful  form  of  this  hymn — *' O  mother  dear, 
Jerusalem '' — was  given  to  the  public  by  David  Dick- 
son, in  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

The  hymn,  as  it  appears  in  our  modern  hymn- 
books,  is  considerably  altered  from  the  text  as  found 
in  the  book  in  the  British  Museum.  It  is  called  by 
Miller  ^'  the  hymn  of  hymns,''  and  certainly  holds  a 
very  warm  place  in  the  hearts  of  Christian  worship- 
ers in  every  communion.  A  young  Scotchman,  on 
his  death-bed  in  the  city  of  New  Orleans  several 
years  ago,  was  visited  by  a  Presbyterian  minister. 
He  continued  to  shut  himself  up  from  the  good  man's 
efforts  to  reach  his  heart.  Somewhat  discouraged,  at 
last  the  visitor  turned  away,  and  scarcely  knowing 
why,  began  to  sing,  *^  Jerusalem,  my  happy  home." 
A  tender  chord  was  touched  in  the  heart  of  the  young 
man.  With  tears  he  exclaimed :  "  My  dear  mother 
used  to  sing  that  hymn !"  The  tender  memories 
awakened  by  the  hymn  opened  his  heart  to  religious 
truth.  He  was  led  through  penitence  into  peace,  and 
thus  was  made  ready  for  the  ^' happy  home"  whither 
his  mother  had  already  preceded  him. 


240  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOG  Y. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ISAAC    WATTS. 

ISAAC  WATTS  (1674-1748)  is  pronounced  by 
Montgomery  the  ^^  father  of  modern  hymnody"-^ 
^^  almost  the  inventor  of  hymns  in  our  language." 
He  was  son  of  a  school-master,  and  deacon  of  an  in- 
dependent church  in  Southampton,  England,  a  local- 
ity which  is  embalmed  in  the  imagery  of  some  of  his 
hymns.  So  insignificant  was  he  in  stature,  after  he 
had  come  to  years  of  maturity,  that  when  he  oifered 
his  hand  to  Elizabeth  Singer,  who  had  already  stolen 
his  heart,  she  gave  the  death-warrant  to  his  hopes  by 
replying  that  ^'  much  as  she  might  love  the  jewel,  she 
could  not  admire  the  casket,"  and  so  missed  the  honor 
of  becoming  the  wife  of  the  most  famous  man  of  his 
generation.  So  precocious  in  intellect  was  he  that 
almost  his  earliest  cry  was  for  a  book ;  and  he  actu- 
ally commenced  the  study  of  Latin  at  four,  of  Greek 
at  nine,  of  French  at  ten,  and  of  Hebrew  qt  fourteen, 
and  this  intellectual  activity  was  continued  through 
a  long  and  most  fruitful  life.  Says  Dr.  Johnson: 
"Few  men  have  left  behind  such  purity  of  character 
or  such  monuments  of  laborious  piety.  He  has  pro- 
vided instruction  for  all  ages,  from  those  who  are 
lisping  their  first  lessons  to  the  enlightened  readers 
of  Malebranche  and  Locke."     And  the  judgment  of 


ISAAC  IVATTS.  241 

this  extraordinary  critic  in  the  matter  of  hymns  is 
sufficiently  indicated  by  such  sentences  as  the  follow- 
ing :  "  It  is  sufficient  for  Watts  to  have  done  better 
than  others  what  no  one  has  done  well.'^  "  His  de- 
votional poetry  is,  like  that  of  others,  unsatisfactory. 
The  paucity  of  its  topics  enforces  perpetual  repeti- 
tion, and  the  sanctity  of  the  matter  rejects  the  orna- 
ments of  figurative  diction." 

Dr.  Watts  was  a  man  of  fervent  and  devoted 
piety.  Descended  through  his  mother  from  the  old 
Huguenots,  the  traditions  and  memories  of  their  bit- 
ter wrongs  must  have  filled  his  soul  with  a  hatred  of 
tryanny,  and  a  sense  of  the  sacredness  of  the  rights 
which  had  been  purchased  at  such  fearful  cost.  And 
the  stories  his  mother  told  him  of  the  time  when  his 
father  was  thrown  into  prison  for  his  convictions  as  a 
non-conformist,  and  how  she  used  to  go  and  sit,  day 
after  cUy,  just  outside  the  prison  bars,  holding  up  her 
infant  to  comfort  his  father  in  his  bonds,  must  have 
deepened  and  intensified  this  feeling;  so  that  it  is  no 
wonder  that  this  mild-spirited  man  was  so  clear  and 
positive  in  his  religious  convictions,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  so  broad  in  his  sympathies  even  toward  those  who 
differed  somewhat  radically  from  the  common  faith. 

He  preached  his  first  sermon  on  his  twenty-fourth 
birthday,  and  the  same  year  was  chosen  assistant  pas- 
tor of  the  Independent  church,  Mark  Lane,  London, 
and  four  years  later  became  sole  pastor.  In  this  pas- 
torate he  remained  for  almost  fifty  years,  though  for 
most  of  the  time  he  had  an  assistant,  and  such  was 
the  feebleness  of  his  health  that  some  of  the  time, 
for  years  together,  he  was   unable   to   preach   at  all. 


242  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOG  Y. 

Often  after  preachiDg  he  would  be  compelled  to  take 
his  bed,  and  have  his  room  closed  in  darkness  and 
silence. 

In  1712  he  visited  the  mansion  of  Sir  Thomas 
Abney.for  rest  and  change  of  air,  which  led  to  his 
making  it  his  permanent  home.  To  a  lady  who  once 
called  to  see  him  Watts  said :  '^  Madam,  your  lady- 
ship has  called  to  see  me  on  a  very  remarkable  day. 
This  very  day,  thirty  years  ago,  I  came  to  the  house  of 
my  good  friend  Sir  Thomas  Abney,  intending  to  spend 
but  a  single  week  under  his  friendly  roof,  and  I  have 
extended  my  visit  to  this  family  to  the  length  of  ex- 
actly thirty  years.''  ^'  Sir,''  said  Lady  Abney,  "  I  con- 
sider it  the  shortest  visit  my  family  ever  received." 
Here  he  found  all  the  comforts  of  a  home  without 
its  cares,  and  doubtless  to  this,  as  a  ground  condition, 
we  owe  much  of  the  fruitfulness  of  his  life.  For 
four  years  after  going  there  he  was  obliged  to  desist 
from  preaching  altogether;  but  all  his  lifelong  his 
literary  activity  seems  to  have  been  incessant.  In  ad- 
dition to  his  poetical  and  theological  works,  he  wrote 
numerous  other  books  and  tractates — such  as  a  work 
on  logic,  which  was  adopted  as  a  text-book  in  Cam-  ' 
bridge  University ;  a  treatise  on  astronomy,  '^  Art  of 
Reading  and  Writing  English,"  "  Guide  to  Prayer," 
^^  Improvement  of  the  Mind,"  which  at  one  time  was 
very  widely  used  as  a  text-book  in  the  schools  of  this 
country,  and  is,  beyond  question,  one  of  the  best  of 
his  works,  as  it  is  certainly  one  of  the  best  books  on 
mental  discipline  ever  written.  He  also  projected  a 
work  on  the  "Rise  and  Progress  of  Religion  in  the 
Soul,"  which  he  was  finally  obliged  to  turn  over  to 


ISAAC  WATTS.  '       243 


his  friend  Dr.  Doddridge  to  execute,  and  he  did  it 
so  excellently  that  it  has  been  pronounced  by  the 
North  British  Beview  the  most  useful  book  of  the 
eighteenth  century. 

Watts  was  eminently  catholic  in  his  spirit.  In 
this  regard  his  own  spirit  and  character  were  truth- 
fully prophetic  of  the  grand  and  universal .  mission 
which  his  hymns  have  fulfilled.  The  memory  of  the 
dark  and  cruel  wrongs  which  his  ancestors,  and  even 
his  own  parents,  had  suffered  from  religious  intoler- 
ance, seems  to  have  wrought  in  his  mind  something 
of  the  spirit  which  Coleridge  so  broadly  expresses: 
"  I  will  be  tolerant  of  everything  else  but  every 
other  man\s  intolerance.'^  This  spirit  of  Christian 
charity  and  fellowship  was  beautifully  illustrated  at 
his  funeral.  Having  lingered  on  to  a  good  old  age, 
"  waiting  God's  leave  to  die,"  when  at  last  the  sum- 
mons did  come,  he  was,  at  his  own  request,  carried  to 
his  burial  by  ministers  chosen  from  three  different  de- 
nominations. And  it  was  fitting  that  in  1861  the 
various  Christian  denominations  in  England  should 
bring  their  offerings  in  common  for  the  erection  of  a 
memorial  monument  in  his  native  town  of  South- 
ampton. The  monument  itself  is  a  fitting  expression 
of  gratitude  on  the  part  of  those  who  felt  themselves 
laid  under  a  debt  of  obligation  to  his  memory  by  his 
hymns,  which  have  come  into  such  universal  use.  It 
stands  in  a  public  square,  and  consists  of  a  base  eight 
and  a  half  feet  square,  surmounted  by  a  pedestal  of 
polished  gray  Aberdeen  granite,  with  three  bas-re- 
liefs of  marble  in  the  sides,  upon  which  stands  a 
statue  of  pure  white  Sicilian  marble,  the  whole  rising 


244  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

to  the  height  of  nineteen  feet.  One  of  the  bas-reliefs 
represents  a  teacher  in  the  midst  of  a  group  of  chil- 
dren, and  bears  this  motto  : 

"  He  gave  to  lisping  infancy  its  earliest  and  purest  lessons." 

Another  represents  the  poet  himself,  and,  underneath, 
this  line  from  his  own  pen  : 

"  To  heaven  I  lift  my  waiting  eyes." 

The  remaining  one  represents  the  poet  surrounded  by 
globe,  telescope,  and  hour-glass,  with  this  sentence 
from  Dr.  Johnson : 

"  He  taught  the  art  of  reasoning  and  the  science  of  the  stars." 

The  inscription  on  the  tablet  is  as  follows: 

ERECTED  BY  VOLUNTARY  SUBSCRIPTIONS 

IN  MEMORY  OF  ISAAC  WATTS,  D.  D., 

A   NATIVE   OF  SOUTHAMPTON. 

BORN  1674 ;  DIED  1748. 

AN   EXAMPLE   OF  THE  TALENTS  OF  A   LARGE   AND  LIBERAL   MIND, 

WHOLLY  DEVOTED  TO  THE   PROMOTION  OF   PIETY, 

VIRTUE,  AND  LITERATURE. 

A  NAME  HONORED  FOR  HIS  ENGLISH  HYMNS  WHEREVER  THE  ENGLISH 

LANGUAGE  EXTENDS. 

ESPECIALLY  THE  FRIEND  OF   CHILDREN   AND  OF  YOUTH,  FOR   WHOSE 

BEST  WELFARE   HE   LABORED   WELL   AND   WISELY, 

WITHOUT  THOUGHT  OF  FAME  OR  GAIN. 

"  From  all  that  dwell  below  the  skies, 
Let  the  Creator's  praise  arise ; 
Let  the  Redeemer's  name  be  sung 
Through  every  land,  by  every  tongue." 

WATTS. 

Only  as  a  writer  of  hymns  is  the  fame  of  Dr. 
Watts  pre-eminent.  When,  at  the  age  of  eighteen, 
on  a  certain  Sabbath,  he  was  complaining  to  one  of 
his  fellow-worshipers  at  the  Independent  chapel  where 
his  father  was  deacon,  of  the  character  of  the  hymns 


ISAAC  WATTS.  245 

sung  there,  the  reply  was,  ^'  Give  us  better,  young 
man."  He  accepted  the  challenge,  and  the  church 
was  invited  to  close  the  evening  service  with  a  new 
hymn  commencing: 

*'  Behold  the  glories  of  the  Lamb 
Before  his  Father's  throne ; 
Prepare  new  honors  for  his  name, 
And  songs  before  unknown  "(D  — 

a  hymn  which  is  retained  in  many  of  our  hymn- 
books,  and  is  still  sung  with  reverence  and  delight. 
Such  was  the  beginning  of  the  most  illustrious  career 
as  a  hymn-writer  which,  with  not  more  than  a  single 
exception,  it  has  ever  been  given  to  mortal  to  fulfill. 
The  author  of  that  first  hymn  has  made  more  mate- 
rial contributions  to  the  apparatus  of  Christian  wor- 
ship in  the  English  tongue  than  any  other  man,  and 
his  hymns  are  familiar  and  precious  wherever  that 
language  is  spoken.  Less  prolific  and  less  versatile 
than  some  others,  especially  than  Charles  Wesley, 
with  whom  he  is  most  frequently  compared,  with  less 
of  poetic  genius  and  less  of  spiritual  fervor  and  joy, 
his  hymns  are  so  devout,  so  Scriptural,  so  catholic, 
and  so  simple,  and,  in  the  main,  so  correct  in  diction 
and  in  sentiment,  that  they  meet  a  general  want  more 
perfectly  than  any  other.  Though  Wesley  wrote 
seven  or  eight  thousand  hymns,  and  Watts  only  six 
hundred  and  ninety-seven,  yet  it  is  probable  that 
more  of  Watts's  hymns  are  in  common  use  than  of 
Wesley's.  A  recent  writer  says:  "Judging  from 
the  results  of  an  examination  of  seven  hundred  and 
fifty  hymn-books,  it  is  safe  to  assign  to  Watts  the  au- 
thorship  of  two-fifths   of  the  hymns  which  are  used 


24(5  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

in  public  worship  in  the  English-speaking  world/^ 
In  the  ^^  Hymns  and  Songs  of  Praise,"  one  of  the 
best  and  most  broadly  representative  of  the  hymn- 
books  used  by  the  Calvinistic  churches  of  this  coun- 
try, AYatts  is  represented  by  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
one  hymns  and  Charles  Wesley  by  ninety-nine;  while 
in  the  Methodist  Hymnal,  Watts  has  but  seventy-eight 
and  Wesley  three  hundred  and  seven.  The  facts  as 
to  actual  use,  however,  may  be  considerably  different 
from  what  would  be  indicated  by  these  figures;  and 
we  need  but  to  glance  over  the  list  of  Watts's  lead- 
ing hymns  to  be  convinced  that  they  constitute  a 
very  large  proportion  of  the  staple  hymns  for  public 
religious  service.  Among  the  most  eminent  of  these 
are  such  as  the  following :  ^^^ 

Alas !  and  did  my  Savior  bleed. 
Am  I  a  soldier  of  the  cross  ? 
Before  Jehovah's  awful  throne. 
,    Blest  are  the  sons  of  peace. 
Come  sound  his  praise  abroad. 
Come,  let  us  join  our  cheerful  songs. 
Come,  ye  that  love  the  Lord. 
Father,  how  wide  thy  glory  shines. 
From  all  that  dwell  below  the  skies. 
Give  me  the  wings  of  faith  to  rise. 
He  dies!  the  friend  of  sinners  dies. 
How  vain  are  all  things  here  below. 
How  beauteous  are  their  feet. 


ISAAC  WATTS.  247 

I'll  praise  my  Maker  while  I  've  breath. 
Jesus  shall  reign  where'er  the  sun. 
Let  every  tongue  thy  goodness  speak. 
My  God,  the  spring  of  all  my  joys ! 
0  God,  our  help  in  ages  past. 
The  heavens  declare  thy  glory.  Lord. 
There  is  a  land  of  pure  delight. 
Unveil  thy  bosom,  faithful  tomb. 
When  I  can  read  my  title  clear. 
When  I  survey  the  wondrous  cross. 
Why  do  we  mourn  for  dying  friends  ? 
Why  should  we  start  and  fear  to  die? 

Some  of  these  hymns  are,  in  a  special  sense,  auto- 
biographic. Nearly  all  of  them  bear,  in  a  marked 
degree,  the  stamp  of  the  poet's  personal  experience. 
It  has  been  alleged  that  the  hymn. 

How  vain  are  all  things  here  below, 

was  written  on  the  occasion  of  the  rejection  of  his 
offer  of  marriage  by  Elizabeth  Singer,  to  which  allu- 
sion has  already  been  made.  The  bitterness  of  his 
disappointment  and  its  lesson  are  reflected  in  such 
lines  as  these : 

"The  fondness  of  a  creature's  love, 
How  strong  it  strikes  the  sense ; 
Thither  our  warm  affections  move, 
Nor  can  we  call  them  hence. 

Dear  Savior,  let  thy  beauties  be 

My  soul's  eternal  food, 
And  grace  command  my  heart  away 

From  all  created  good." 


248  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

To  the  character  of  the  scenery  about  Southamp- 
ton are  doubtless  due  some  of  the  most  striking  and 
beautiful  passages  of  his  hymns.  It  is  situated  on 
the  south  coast  of  England,  at  the  head  of  South- 
ampton Water,  between  the  Itchen  on  the  east,  and 
the  Anton  on  the  west,  with  the  Isle  of  Wight  in 
the  distance,  at  the  mouth  of  the  bay.  This  island 
is  separated  from  the  main-land  by  an  interval  of 
from  one  to  six  miles,  and  serves  as  a  vast  natural 
breakwater,  making  this  port  one  of  the  safest  and 
most  eligible  in  the  United  Kingdom.  The  scenery 
of  the  island  is  of  remarkable  beauty,  and  the  cli- 
mate so  salubrious  that  in  one  part  the  death-rate  is 
lower  than  in  any  other  locality  in  the  United  King- 
dom. The  tradition  is  that  these  conditions  furnished 
the  costume  of  expression  for  the  hymn, 

There  is  a  iand  of  pure  delight. 

Certain  it  is  that  the  language  is  such  as  exactly  suits 
them,  and  by  their  aid  we  feel  its  force  and  beauty. 

"  Death,  like  a  narrow  sea,  divides 
This  heavenly  land  from  ours." 

"Sweet  fields  beyond  the  swelling  flood 
Stand  dressed  in  living  green." 

"  Could  we  but  climb  where  Moses  stood, 
Aiid  view  the  landscape  o'er, 
Not  Jordan's  stream  nor  death's  cold  flood 
Should  fright  us  from  the  shore." 

There  is  little  doubt  that  the  imagery  of  one  of 
the  verses  of  another  hymn  may  have  been  suggested 
by  the  same  associations.  Only  one  familiar  with 
the  sea,  and  accustomed  to   study  its  various  moods, 


ISAAC  WATTS.  249 

would  have  been  so  felicitous  in  seizing  upon  and  in- 
terpreting the  most  perfect  symbol  of  rest  which 
nature  contains — water  in  repose  : 

"  There  I  shall  bathe  my  weary  soul 
In  seas  of  heavenly  rest, 
And  not  a  wave  of  trouble  roll 
Across  my  peaceful  breast." 

The  hymn  in  which  this  verse  stands  has  been  per- 
haps as  often  used  as  any  of  his  hymns.  It  was  sung 
on  the  field  of  Shiloh,  the  night  after  the  battle,  under 
circumstances  of  peculiar  impressiveness.  A  Chris- 
tian officer  had  been  severely  wounded,  and,  being 
unable  to  help  himself,  lay  all  night  on  the  field. 
Says  he:  ^^The  stars  shone  out  clear  above  the  dark 
battle-field,  and  I  began  to  think  about  God,  who 
had  given  his  Son  to  die  for  me,  and  that  he  was  up 
above  the  glorious  stars.  I  felt  that  I  ought  to  praise 
him  even  while  wounded  on  that  battle-ground.  I 
could  not  help  singing: 

*  When  I  can  read  my  title  clear 
To  mansions  in  the  skies, 
I  '11  bid  farewell  to  every  fear. 
And  wipe  my  weeping  eyes.' 

There  was  a  Christian  brother  in  the  brush  near  me. 
I  could  not  see  him,  but  I  could  hear  him.  He  took 
up  the  strain.  Another,  beyond  him,  heard  and 
joined  in,  and  still  others  too.  We  made  the  field  of 
battle  ring  with  the  hymn  of  praise  to  God." 

Many  volumes  might  be  filled  with  illustrative 
anecdotes  bearing  upon  the  use  of  some  line,  stanza, 
or  whole  hymn  even,  which  Watts  has  written.  The 
full    history   of  his    hymns,    if  it    could    be    written, 


250  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

would  be  a  great  part,  and  a  very  interesting  part, 
of  the  history  of  Protestant  Christianity  among  En- 
glish-speaking peoples  for  the  last  hundred  years. 
Scarcely  another  couplet  in  the  entire  range  of  Hym- 
nology  has  been  so  often  quoted  in  the  great  crisis- 
hour  of  individual  spiritual  history  as 

*'  Here,  Lord,  I  give  myself  away, 
'T  is  all  that  I  can  do." 

Few  verses  appropriate  to  the  dying  hour  are  so  often 
quoted,  and  with  such  satisfying  effect,  as 

"  Jesus  can  make  a  dying  bed 
Feel  soft  as  downy  pillows  are, 
While  on  his  breast  I  lean  my  head. 
And  breathe  my  life  out  sweetly  there." 

And  how  often  have  the  lines  of  the  previous  verse 
been  the  experience  of  God^s  children : 

"  0  would  my  Lord  his  servant  meet. 

My  soul  would  stretch  her  wings  in  haste  !" 

Said  Thomas  Scott  the  morning  of  his  last  day  on 
earth :  ^^  I  have  done  with  darkness  forever — foe- 
EVER.  Nothing  now  remains  but  salvation  and  eter- 
nal glory — ETERNAL  GLORY !''  AVas  not  this  the 
brightness  of  the  coming  of  the  Lord  to  meet  his 
servant  in  the  dark  passage-way? 

When  the  good  Bishop  Beveridge  was  on  his 
death-bed  he  was  visited  by  a  ministerial  friend. 
"Bishop  Beveridge,  do  you  know  me?^'  "Who  are 
you?"  said  the  bishop.  Being  told,  he  answered: 
"  I  do  n't  know  you.''  Another  friend  sought  recog- 
nition. "I  don't  know  you"  was  still  the  answer. 
His   wife  addressed   him,  but  with   the   same   result. 


ISAAC  WATTS.  251 

At  length  one  said :  "  Do  you  know  Jesus  Christ  ?" 
"Jesus  Christ?"  said  the  dying  man,  as  if  the  very 
name  had  touched  a  new  spring  of  life.  "O  yes;  I 
have  known  him  for  forty  years.  Precious  Savior! 
he  is  my  only  hope."  Thus  did  the  loving  Master 
support  and  cheer  his  trusting  disciple  as  the  waters  of 
the  '^dark  and  solemn  ocean"  were  closing  over  him. 
Dr.  Doddridge  wrote  to  Watts  of  the  powerful 
effect  produced  by  the  singing  of  one  of  his  hymns 
in  his  own  congregation.  He  had  preached  from 
Hebrews  vi,  12:  "Followers  of  them  who  through 
faith  and  patience  inherit  the  promises ;"  and  at  the 
close  of  the  sermon  gave  out  the  hymn  : 

''  Give  me  the  wings  of  faith  to  rise 
Within  the  veil,  and  see 
The  saints  above,  how  great  their  joys, 
How  bright  their  glories  be. 

Once  they  were  mourners  here  below, 

And  poured  out  cries  and  tears ; 
They  wrestled  hard,  as  we  do  now, 

With  sins  and  doubts  and  fears. 

I  ask  them  whence  their  victory  came ; 

They,  with  united  breath, 
Ascribe  their  conquests  to  the  Lamb, 

Their  triumph  to  his  death. 

Our  glorious  leader  claims  our  praise 

For  his  own  pattern  given. 
While  the  long  cloud  of  witnesses 

Show  the  same  path  to  heaven." 

So  perfectly  suited  were  these  words  to  the  matter  of 
the  discourse,  and  so  tender  the  associations  awak- 
ened, that  many  could  not  sing  for  their  emotion, 
and  many  sung  amid  tears. 


252  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

It  is  a  matter  of  special  interest  that  the  memory 
of  AVatts  is,  by  many  associations,  so  closely  linked 
with  that  of  the  Wesleys.  He  lived  about  ten  years 
after  the  beginning  of  that  grand  evangelical  move- 
ment in  which  the  Wesleys  and  Whitefield  were  the 
chief  actors,  though  probably  he  never  came  into 
very  close  personal  contact  with  any  of  its  chief 
agents.  But  he  did  read  some  of  Charles  Wesley^s 
hymns,  and  never  did  one  eminent  poet  give  to 
another,  then  comparatively  unknown,  such  a  gener- 
ous meed  of  praise.  Said  he :  '^  I  would  rather  be 
the  author  of  that  single  poem  '•  Wrestling  Jacob ' 
than  of  all  the  hymns  which  I  have  ever  written. '^ 
Probably  no  other  person  ever  agreed  with  him  in 
this  estimate,  and  these  words  should  be  quoted  rather 
in  honor  of  Watts  than  Wesley,  in  whose  honor  they 
have  been  so  often  quoted.^'^^ 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  the  last  words  which 

fell   from  the   lips   of  John  Wesley  were  written  by 

Watts.     When    the   supreme    moment   came    he   was 

struggling  to  repeat  that  grand  hymn  of  gratitude  and 

victory : 

"  I  '11  praise  my  Maker  while  I  've  breath, 
And  when  my  voice  is  lost  in  death 
Praise  shall  employ  my  nobler  powers,"  etc. 

This  hymn  Wesley  began  on  earth,  but  finished  it 
if  he  ever  finished  it  at  all,  ^^  before  the  throne  of 
God." 

Some  of  the  very  best  of  the  hymns  of  Watts 
owe  their  present  perfection  and  much  of  their  use- 
fulness to  the  finishing  touches  of  John  Wesley. 
The    hymn    "  Before    Jehovah's    awful    throne ''    is 


ISAAC  IVATTS.  253 

an  instance  in  point.  As  at  first  written  it  com- 
menced : 

"  Sing  to  the  Lord  with  cheerful  voice, 
Let  every  land  his  name  adore  ; 
The  British  isles  shall  scent  the  noise 
Across  the  ocean  to  the  shore. 

Nations  attend  before  his  throne 
With  solemn  fear,  with  sacred  joy,"  etc. 

Wesley  dropped  the  first  verse  altogether,  and 
changed  the  first  two  lines  of  the  second  to  read  : 

"  Before  Jehovah's  awful  throne, 

Ye  nations,  bow  with  sacred  joy;" 

thus  making  a  suitable  beginning  for  a  hymn  which 
is  almost  unequaled  in  our  language  for  strength  and 
majesty. 

Two  or  three  slight  changes  made  by  Wesley  in 
the  hymn  above  mentioned  as  spoken  literally  with 
his  dying  breath,  are  felt  to  be  such  improvements  as 
materially  to  elevate  the  character  of  the  hymn. 
Watts  wrote  : 

I'll  praise  my  Maker  with  my  breath, 
which  Wesley  changed  to 

I  '11  praise  my  Maker  while  I  've  breath. 
In  the  third  verse  Watts  wrote : 

The  Lord  hath  eyes  to  give  the  blind. 
This  Wesley  altered  to 

The  Lord  pours  eyesight  on  the  blind. 

In  a  similar  way  did  Wesley  change,  materially  for 
the   better,  several   lines  in  that  glad  song  of  Chris- 


254  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

tian  joy,  "  Come  ye  that  love  the  Lord."  At  a 
single  stroke  he  cleared  away  the  weakness  and  im- 
purity of  the  first  verse  by  changing  it  from  the  first 
to  the  second  person — '^  Come  ye  '^  for  ^^  Come  we^^ 
etc.     The  first  four  lines,  as  originally  written,  stood 

thus: 

"The  God  that  rules  on  high, 

And  thunders  when  he  please, 
Who  rides  upon  the  stormy  sky 
And  calms  the  roaring  seas,"  etc. 

Wesley  made  the  second  line  to  read,  ''  That  all  the 
earth  surveys." 

In  the  hymn  commencing,  ''  My  drowsy  powers, 
why  sleep  ye  so  ?"  Watts  wrote  in  the  second  verse  : 

"  The  little  ants  for  one  poor  grain 
Labor  and  tug  and  strive." 

Wesley  reclaimed  it  from  its  uncouthness  and  vul- 
garism, and  elevated  it  into  the  region  of  lyrical  ex- 
pression by  substituting : 

"Go  to  the  ants!     For  one  poor  grain 
See  how  they  toil  and  strive." 

But  the  most  striking  instance  of  textual  change, 
elevating  and  transforming  the  character  of  a  whole 
hymn,  is  seen  in  the  hymn  commencing, 

"He  dies!  the  friend  of  sinners  dies! 
Lo!  Salem's  daugliters  weep  around: 
A  solemn  darkness  veils  the  skies, 

A  sudden  trembling  shakes  the  ground  ;" 

which,  as  at  first  written  by  Watts,  stood  : 

"  He  dies!  the  heavenly  lover  dies! 
The  tidings  strike  a  doleful  sound 
On  my  poor  heart-strings.     Deep  he  lies 
In  the  cold  caverns  of  the  ground !" 


ISAAC  WATTS.  255 

These  hymns  are  all  dear  to  the  universal  church, 
and  it  is  a  matter  of  considerable  interest  that,  as 
now  sung,  they  are  the  joint  product  of  these  two  em- 
inent and  honored  representatives  of  the  Calvinistic 
and  the  Arminian  type  of  Christian  belief 

Many  of  the  hymns  of  Watts  are  a  part  of  the 
universal  language  of  English-speaking  Christians, 
and  are  almost  as  sure  to  be  known  as  the  Bible 
itself.  But  a  few  of  them  have  been  selected  by  the 
critics  as  entitled  to  special  mention  because  of  their 
rare  perfection  as  lyric  poems.  The  two  most  fre- 
quently mentioned  with  the  highest  praise  are  : 

My  God,  the  spring  of  all  my  joys. 

When  I  survey  the  wondrous  cross. 

As    examples    of    special    felicity    in    versifying    the 
Psalms  the  following  have  been  quoted  : 

O  God,  our  help  in  ages  past. 

The  heavens  declare  thy  glory,  Lord. 


256  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE   WESIvEYS. 

THE  prominence  of  the  famous  Wesley  family  in 
the  general  history  of  the  Christian  church  is 
equaled  only  by  its  prominence  in  the  history  of 
Christian  hymnody. 

Samuel  \¥esley,  Senior  (1662-1735)— father  of  his 
more  distinguished  sons,  Samuel,  John,  and  Charles — 
was  educated  at  Oxford,  and  was,  for  most  of  his  life, 
rector  of  the  parish  of  Epworth,  in  Lincolnshire. 
His  grandfather,  Bartholomew,  and  his  own  father, 
John,  were  both  Dissenters,  and  were  driven  from 
their  pulpits,  fined,  imprisoned,  and,  in  the  case  of  the 
father,  crushed  by  the  persecutions  which  they  suf- 
fered as  Non-conformists.  In  the  exercise  of  that  in- 
dependence and  self-reliance  so  characteristic  of  him, 
he  started  for  Exeter  College,  Oxford,  with  less  than 
three  pounds  in  his  pocket;  yet  with  such  energy  and 
economy  did  he  apply  himself  to  the  problem  of  self- 
support  that,  though  during  his  entire  college  course 
he  did  not  receive  aid  to  the  amount  of  a  crown,  he 
was  able  to  leave  college  with  ten  pounds,  after  de- 
fraying all  expenses.  Notwithstanding  the  bitter 
wrongs  which  his  father  had  suffered,  and  which 
drove  him  to  his  grave  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-four, 
he  decided  to  enter  the  ministry  of  the  Established 
Church,   and  in  this  ministry    lived    and   died.     His 


THE  WESLEY S.  251 

noble  wife,  too — one  of  the  most  extraordinary  women 
who  have  ever  lived — experieaced  a  similar  revolu- 
tion in  her  views  on  the  great  and  overshadowing' 
question  of  Conformity.  Her  father — Dr.  Annesley — 
was  an  eminent  Non-conformist  divine,  but  this  his 
favorite  daughter  early  came  to  clear  convictions  in 
favor  of  Conformity,  and  that,  too,  without  at  all  in- 
terrupting the  warm  affection  which  existed  between 
them. 

In  Samuel  Wesley  we  mark  a  distinct  prophecy 
of  the  remarkable  poetical  gifts  of  his  sons.  From 
the  first  he  himself  shows  an  irrepressible  proclivity 
for  rhyming.  He  wrote  a  ^'Life  of  Christ"  in  verse, 
as  also  "  The  History  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments'^  in  the  same  form.  Dunton  says  that  he  would 
write  two  hundred  couplets  a  day,  a  statement  which 
in  itself  almost  vindicates  the  remark  of  another  that 
"  the  current  of  his  verse  was  so  rapid  as  to  carry  with 
it  all  the  lighter  rubbish  of  its  banks,  and  to  sink 
whatever  of  weighty  value  was  cast  upon  it.''  Two 
of  his  hymns  are  in  somew^hat  common  use : 

Behold  the  Savior  of  mankind ! 
What  shall  I  render  to  my  God? 

This  last  must  not  be  confounded  with  a  hymn  by 
Watts,  founded  on  the  same  passage — Psalms  cxvi,  13. 
The  first  was  found  written  on  a  piece  of  music  res- 
cued from  the  flames  of  the  Epworth  rectory.  In 
this  fire  John  Wesley  narrowly  escaped  perishing ; 
and  the  first  act  of  the  father,  when  he  saw  that  all 
his  family  were  safe,  was  to  kneel  down  with  them  to 
thank  God  for  his  protection  and  deliverance.     As  a 


258  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

memento  of  this  interesting  passage  in  the  history  of 
the  Wesley  family,  as  well  as  for  its  own  intrinsic 
meritj  this  hymn  is  highly  prized. 

Samuel  Wesley,  Junior  (1690-1739),  was  the  old- 
est son  of  the  foregoing,  and,  like  him,  was  a  Church- 
man. As  to  church  order  he  stood  at  the  very  an- 
tipodes of  his  brothers  John  and  Charles,  being  thor- 
oughly High-church  in  his  views,  and  utterly  opposed 
to  the  irregularities  of  the  Methodistic  movement. 
He  was  educated  at  Oxford,  was  an  excellent 
scholar,  and  an  author  of  some  reputation.  For 
twenty  years  he  was  an  usher  at  Westminster  School, 
and  for  the  last  seven  years  of  his  life  he  was  head- 
master of  the  school  at  Tiverton.  The  following 
hymns  are  his : 

The  Lord  of  Sabbath  let  us  praise. 

The  morning  flowers  display  their  sweets. 

His  literary  taste,  and  probably  also  his  churchly 
sympathies,  led  him  to  express  in  verse  his  views  of 
the  prevalent  tendency  to  put  the  Psalms  into  meter 
and  rhyme — a  protest  which,  as  there  can  hardly  be 
any  doubt,  was  directed  particularly  against  Dr. 
Watts : 

"  Has  David  Christ  to  come  foreshowed  ? 
Can  Christians,  then,  aspire 
To  mend  the  harmony  that  flowed 
From  his  prophetic  lyre? 

How  curious  are  their  wits,  and  vain  ; 

Their  erring  zeal  how  bold, 
Who  durst  with  meaner  dross  profane 

His  purity  of  gold  ! 


THE  WESLEY S.  259 

The  Psalms  unchanged  the  saints  emplo}-, 

Unchanged  our  God  appUes  ; 
Tliey  suit  the  apostles  in  their  joy, 

The  Savior  when  he  dies. 

Let  David's  pure,  unaltered  lays 

Transmit  through  ages  down 
To  thee,  O  David's  Lord,  our  praise — 

To  thee,  O  David's  Son ! 

Till  judgment  calls  the  seraph  throng 

To  join  the  human  choir. 
And  God,  who  gave  the  ancient  song. 

The  new  one  shall  inspire." 

The  history  of  John  Wesley  (1703-1791)  has  often 
been  told,  and  need  not  here  be  repeated.  The  his- 
tory of  no  minister,  from  the  days  of  the  apostles  to 
the  present  time,  is  more  widely  and  universally  fa- 
miliar. The  estimate  in  which  he  should  be  held  is 
already  made  up,  and  can  not  be  materially  changed. 
It  has  come  to  be  felt  on  all  hands  that  his  is  one  of 
the  grandest  characters  in  all  history — that  his  friends 
and  followers  have  no  occasion  to  blush  for  him,  as 
he  takes  his  seat  in  the  very  highest  society  of  earth — 
and  that  the  career  it  was  given  him  to  fulfill  had  a 
most  influential  bearing  upon  the  history  of  Protest- 
ant Christianity  among  all  the  peoples  who  speak  the 
English  language.  Of  all  the  movements  which  have 
been  set  on  foot  in  the  sacred  name  of  religion,  no 
one  has  been  more  catholic,  more  spiritual,  or  more 
Christly  in  its  genius  and  in  its  methods  than  that  of 
which  John  Wesley  was,  in  some  eminent  sense,  the 
originator,  and  in  which  he  was  a  chief  actor.  The 
Churchman,  Isaac  Taylor,  pronounces  it  '^the  starting 
point  of  our   modern   religious   history,"  and   asserts 


2b0  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

that  "■  the  field-preaching  of  Wesley  and  Whitefield,  in 
1739,  was  the  event  whence  the  religious  epoch  now 
current  must  date  its  commencement/^ 

But  it  is  with  the  relations  of  John  Wesley  to 
Christian  hymnody  that  this  sketch  is  solely  con- 
cerned. His  work  here  is  of  three  kinds — alterations 
of  hymns  written  by  others,  translations  of  hymns 
from  other  languages,  and  original  hymns.  Of  his 
work  as  a  hymn-mender  we  have  already  given  illus- 
trations taken  from  the  hymns  of  Watts.  There  is 
little  doubt  that  the  hymns  of  his  brother  Charles 
may  be  also  much  indebted  to  his  more  critical  though 
less  affluent  pen.  It  is  by  no  means  improbable  that 
some  of  these  precious  hymns  may  be  the  joint  pro- 
duct of  these  brothers,  just  as  certain  hymns  already 
mentioned  are,  in  their  present  form,  the  joint  pro- 
duct of  Watts  and  John  Wesley. 

But  his  most  important  contributions  to  hymnol- 
ogy  were  made  in  the  form  of  translations.  His  em- 
inent mission  was  to  bring  the  spiritual  hymns  of  the 
Moravians,  and  the  French  and  German  Pietists  and 
Mystics,  into  the  English  tongue,  and  so  into  the 
hearts  of  his  followers.  In  them  was  struck  the  key- 
note of  Christian  experience  for  himself  and  his 
people.  Among  the  most  potent  and  stimulating  in- 
fluences which  have  ever  come  to  the  English  churches 
are  the  hymns  of  such  men  as  Gerhardt,  Tersteegen, 
the  Langes,  B,othe,  Winkler,  Spangenberg,  and  Zin- 
zendorf,  and  to  them  Methodism  owes  much  of  the 
vigor  and  fervor  of  her  spiritual  life. 

Considered  as  translations  these  hymns  are  worthy 
of  high   praise.     Clear,  accurate,  dignified,  poetic  in 


THE   WESLEYS.  261 

diction,  and  forcible  in  style,  they  are,  in  their  way, 
models.  We  read  and  sing  them  with  no  feeling  that 
they  were  written  in  another  language  than  ours. 
The  only  objection  which  can  lie  against  them  is  as  to 
the  meter,  Avhich  is  in  octo-syllabled  lines ;  arranged, 
for  the  most  part,  six  lines  to  a  stanza,  giving  one  of 
the  heaviest  meters  ever  employed  in  religious  poetry, 
and  one  for  which  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  find 
suitable  music. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  principal  translations 
of  Mr.  Wesley,  which  are  still  kept  as  hymns  in  the 
congregations : 

0  God,  of  good  the  unfathomed  sea.  Scheffler. 

1  thank  thee,  Uncreated  Sun.  " 

O  God,  thou  bottomless  abyss.  E.  Lange. 

Thine,  Lord,  is  wisdom,  thine  alone.  " 

0  God,  what  offering  shall  I  give?  /.  Lange. 
Now  I  have  found  the  ground  wherein.     Eothe. 
Though  waves  and  storms  go  o'er  my  head.  " 

My  soul  before  thee  prostrate  lies.  Richter. 
Thou  Lamb  of  God,  thou  Prince  of  Peace.      '* 

Eternal  depth  of  love  divine.  Zinzendorf. 

Jesus,  thy  blood  and  righteousness.  '* 

1  thirst,  thou  wounded  Lamb  of  God.  " 
Extended  on  a  cursed  tree.  Gerhardt. 
Jesus,  thy  boundless  love  to  me.  " 
Commit  thou  all  thy  griefs.  " 
Give  to  the  winds  thy  fears.  " 


262  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

Into  thy  gracious  hands  I  fall.  Dessler. 

Thou  hidden  love  of  God,  whose  height.     Tersteegen. 
O  Thou,  to  whose  all-searching  sight.  " 

O  Thou,  who  all  things  canst  control.  " 

Lo  !  God  is  here  !     Let  us  adore.  *' 

Holy  Lamb,  who  thee  receive.  Mrs.  A.  S.  Dober. 

High  on  his  everlasting  throne.  Spangenberg. 

Shall  I,  for  fear  of  feeble  man.  Winkler. 

Savior  of  men,  thy  searching  eye.  " 

O  Lord,  within  thy  sacred  gate.  From  the  Spanish. 

Come,  Savior,  Jesus,  from  above.  Mad.  Bourignon.^^) 

The  following  original  hymns  are  from  his  pen: 
Father  of  all,  whose  powerful  voice. 
Ho  !  every  one  that  thirsts,  draw  nigh. 
O  Sun  of  righteousness,  arise. 
Ye  simple  souls,  that  stray. 
We  lift  our  hearts  to  thee, 
,  How  happy  is  the  pilgrim's  lot !  (-> 
Of  these  the  last  is  the  most  autobiographic.     In- 
deed, some  of  the  verses  are  so  exactly  suited  to  Mr. 
Wesley  as  to  be  quite  unsuited  for  the  use  of  average 
mortals.     Take,  for   instance,   these   of  the   original, 
which,  for  very  manifest  reasons,  are  not  found  in  the 
hymn-books : 

"  I  have  no  sharer  of  my  heart 
To  rob  my  Savior  of  a  part. 

And  desecrate  the  whole ; 
Only  betrothed  to  Christ  am  I, 
And  wait  his  coming  in  the  sky. 

To  wed  my  happy  soul. 


THE  WESLEYS.  263 

I  have  no  babes  to  hold  me  here, 
But  children  more  securely  dear 

For  mine,  I  humbly  claim  ; 
Better  than  daughters  or  than  sons, 
Temples  divine  of  living  stones, 

Inscribed  with  Jesu's  name." 

Seldom  has  good  poetry  been  used  with  such  dis- 
mal effect  as  in  these  lines.  We  can  not  fail  to  recog- 
nize here  the  dark  shadow  of  that  most  fallacious  and 
pernicious  doctrine  of  priestly  celibacy.  There  is  an 
evident  implication  that  a  man  may  be  a  better  Chris- 
tian and  a  better  minister  for  being  childless  and  un- 
married. As  we  read  these  verses  we  can  not  repress 
a  feeling  of  pity,  not  so  much  for  the  loneliness  of 
the  w^riter's  lot — without  "babes"  and  without  a 
"sharer  of  his  heart'' — but  because  he  seems  to  find 
in  these  essentially  abnormal  conditions  matter  for 
self-gratulation.  There  is,  however,  a  half-truth  in 
all  this,  and  the  complementary  truth  Mr.  Wesley 
sets  forth  in  other  places  in  his  writings  most  clearly 
and  forcibly. 

But  the  great  name  in  Christian  hymnody,  con- 
tributed by  the  Wesley  family,  is  that  of  Charles 
Wesley  (1708-1788).  He  wrote  more  hymns — and 
we  will  add,  more  good  hymns — than  any  other  ten 
men  who  have  written  hymns  in  the  English  lan- 
guage. Watts  wrote  less  than  seven  hundred,  Dodd- 
ridge less  than  four  hundred,  Montgomery  less  than  two 
hundred,  while  Charles  Wesley  wrote  from  seven  to 
eight  thousand !  Of  course  some  of  these  are  such  as 
not  even  his  most  ardent  admirers  can  find  much 
pleasure  in  reading,  but  others  exhibit  a  wealth  and 
beauty    of   lyrical    expression    truly    marvelous.      A 


264  SlUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

prominent  actor  in  the  most  important  evangelical 
movement  since  the  days  of  the  apostles,  his  hymns 
have  the  rare  merit  of  reflecting  every  significant 
phase  of  that  movement;  so  that  if  the  question  be 
asked  to-day,  What  is  Methodism  as  a  creed,  an  ex- 
perience, a  life  ? — a  more  adequate  answer  can  be 
found  in  these  hymns  than  anywhere  else,  not  ex- 
cepting the  Sermons  of  John  Wesley  or  the  Institutes 
of  Richard  Watson.  It  has  been  said:  "Let  him 
who  would  form  a  good  English  style  give  his  days 
and  nights  to  the  study  of  Addison."  With  more 
propriety  may  it  be  said :  "  Let  him  who  would  un- 
derstand that  wonderful  movement  called  Methodism, 
and  especially  him  who  would  enter  into  and  partake 
of  its  life — who  would  feel  the  thrill  and  glow  and 
exhilaration  so  characteristic  of  it — give  his  days  and 
nights  to  the  study  of  the  hymns  of  Charles  Wesley." 
Next  to  the  New  Testament  itself,  they  are  the  best 
body  of  experimental  divinity  ever  written.  No  man 
can  sing  them  heartily  and  habitually,  "  with  the 
spirit  and  the  understanding  also,"  without  coming 
to  a  just  and  discriminating  sense  of  the  real  genius 
of  Methodism. 

In  unusual  measure  these  hymns  bear  the  stamp 
of  the  author's  personal  history  and  experience.  Even 
his  letters  to  her  who  afterwards  became  his  wife 
were  often  written  in  verse;  and  when  we  remember 
that  he  was  at  this  time  a  clergyman,  forty  years  of 
age,  and  leading  a  most  active  and  laborious  life,  we 
shall  realize  how  absolutely  irrepressible  his  poetic 
proclivities  must  have  been.  Among  the  best  known 
of  his  hymns  are  such  as  the  following: 


THE  WES  LEYS.  265 

Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul. 

O  for  a  thousand  tongues  to  sing. 

A  charge  to  keep  I  have. 

Stay,  thou  insulted  Spirit,  stay ! 

Jesus,  the  name  high  over  all. 

How  happy  every  child  of  grace. 

Come,  0  thou  Traveler  unknown. 

Stand  the  omnipotent  decree. 

Depth  of  mercy!  can  there  be? 

Arise,  my  soul,  arise. 

And  must  I  be  to  judgment  brought? 

Love  divine,  all  love  excelling. 

Light  of  those  whose  dreary  dwelling. 

Come  on,  my  partners  in  distress. 

Lo !  He  comes,  with  clouds  descending. 

Forever  here  my  rest  shall  be. 

Blow  ye  the  trumpet,  blow. 

Soldiers  of  Christ,  arise ! 

Thou  God  of  glorious  majesty. 

And  am  I  only  born  to  die? 

Come,  thou  Almighty  King. 

0  Love  divine,  how  sweet  thou  art ! 

Thou  Shepherd  of  Israel,  and  mine. 

Vain,  delusive  world,  adieu ! 

Hark  !  the  herald  angels  sing. 

See  how  great  a  flame  aspires.'^^ 

18 


266  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

This  list  might  easily  be  extended  so  as  to  embrace 
as  many  more  which  are  generally  familiar  and  dear 
to  the  heart  of  the  universal  church,  but  these  will 
serve  as  illustrative  specimens.  The  Wesleyarr  Hymn- 
book  of  Great  Britain  contains  six  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  of  his  hymns,  and  many  others  are  met 
with,  scattered  through  the  various  hymnals  of  other 
denominations.  Robert  Southey  says  of  them  that 
they  have  been  "more  devoutly  committed  to  mem- 
ory,^' and  "oftener  repeated  on  a  death-bed,^'  than 
any  others.  But  life  is  a  more  just  and  adequate  test 
than  death,  and  with  even  more  emphasis  may  it  be 
said  that  no  hymns  have  ministered  to  the  wants  of 
the  human  soul,  in  the  great  crises  of  spiritual  history, 
more  frequently  or  more  helpfully  than  these.  We 
hear  among  them  voiceS  for  all  phases  and  grades  of 
spiritual  experience,  and  all  forms  of  Christian  work — 
awakening  conviction,  penitence,  pardon,  assurance ; 
rejoicing  in  sins  forgiven,  in  communion  with  God, 
in  prospect  of  heaven ;  the  closet,  the  family,  the 
church ;  evangelistic  work,  charitable  work,  reform 
work, — everything  which  lies  between  the  fearful  ruin 
wrought  by  sin  and  the  glorious  consummation  of  the 
work  of  human  recovery.  Every  condition  in  life, 
every  occupation,  and  almost  every  event,  is  here 
represented.  Among  his  general  captions  we  find: 
"Hymns  for  Watch-Nights,''  "New-Year's  Hay," 
"The  Lord\s  Supper,"  "The  Nativity  of  Our  Lord," 
"Our  Lord's  Resurrection,".  "Hymns  Occasioned  by 
the  Earthquake,"  "  Hymns  for  Times  of  Trouble  and 
Persecution,"  "  Hymns  for  Methodist  Preachers," 
"  Hymns   for   the    Use    of  Families,"    "  Hymns   for 


THE  WESLEYS.  267 

Children,"  "  Prayers  for  Condemned  Malefactors," 
"  Hymns  for  the  Nation,"  ^^  Funeral  Hymns,"  etc. 
Among  the  titles  of  individual  hymns  are  such  as 
these  :  ''  For  a  Family  in  Want,"  "  To  be  Sung  at 
Tea-table,"  ''  For  a  Persecuting  Husband,"  ''  At  Send- 
ing a  Child  to  a  Boarding-school,"  ^^  A  Collier's 
Hymn,"  ^^  For  an  Unconverted  Wife,"  ^^  For  One 
Retired  into  the  Country,"  "A  Wedding-song,"  "On 
Going  to  Work;"  and  the  more  common  captions, 
such  as  "For  Sabbath,"  "Bereavement,"  "Sleep," 
"  Morning  and  Evening."  To  many  a  devout  Meth- 
odist these  hymns  have  been,  as  indeed  they  are  suited 
to  be,  "  the  key  of  the  morning  and  the  bolt  of  the 
night."  Indeed  these  hymns,  beautiful  and  felicitous 
as  they  often  are  in  the  mere  matter  of  expression, 
seldom  seem  like  mere  words,  but  like  "  a  heart  poured 
out  into  a  heart — a  child-like,  dependent  human  heart 
into  the  great,  infinite,  tender  heart  of  God."  Of 
this  Bishop  Wordsworth  complains,  and  even  finds 
such  sensuous  and  amatory  suggestions  in  "  Jesus, 
lover  of  my  soul,"  as  to  be  shocked  to  hear  it  given 
out  in  a  promiscuous  congregation,  gathered  from  the 
poor  and  sinful  in  a  great  city ;  but  it  may  be  safely 
said  that  right-minded  persons  are  more  shocked  at 
the  criticism  than  the  hymn.  This  warm,  glowing, 
seraphic  quality  in  Wesley's  hymns  is  their  grand, 
distinguishing  characteristic,  and  the  one  reason  why 
they  will  ever  be  placed,  by  many,  above  all  other 
uninspired  compositions. 

Their  influence  is  well  illustrated  in  that  exceed- 
ingly choice,  if  not  the  very  choicest  of  Mrs.  Charles's 
books—"  The  Diary  of  Mrs.  Kitty  Trevylyan."     One 


268  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

of  her  characters  had  been  a  poor,  ignorant,  and  des- 
perately wicked  Cornish  wrecker,  but  had  been  reached 
by  the  evangelists  and  brought  to  Christ,  and  is  made 
to  tell  his  story  in  this  way : 

"*  Yes,  missis,  my  sin  is  the  same,  I  think.  I  hate 
it  more ;  it 's  seldom  out  of  my  sight.  King  David 
says,  ^^  My  sin  is  ever  before  me ;''  and  I  find  him 
pretty  right.  And  the  eyes  of  the  living  Lord  are  on 
me,  searching  me  through  and  through,  seems  to  me 
deeper  and  deeper  ^most  every  day  ;  and  I  can  't  avoid 
them  any  more  than  I  could ;  but,  thank  the  Lord,  I 
do  nH  want  to.  There  \s  the  difference — I  do  n't  want 
to.  I  would  n't  be  out  of  the  sight  of  his  eyes  for 
the  world.' 

*^ '  And  what  helped  you  thus  at  last  V  said  mother. 

"  *  It  was  mostly  the  hymns,'  said  Toby ;  ^  first  the 
Bible,  then  mostly  the  hymns ;  for  they  are  the  Bible 
for  the  most  part,  only  set  to  music,  like,  so  that  it 
rings  in  your  heart  like  a  tune.  It  was  the  hymns, 
and  what  they  said  at  the  class-meeting.  Before  I 
went  to  the  class,  and  heard  what  they  had  to  say 
there,  I  thought  I  was  all  alone,  like  a  castaway  on 
a  sandy  shore,  under  a  great  sheer  wall  of  cliffs;  a 
narrow  strip  of  sand,  which  no  mortal  man  had  ever 
trod  before,  and  which  the  tide  was  fast  sweeping 
over,  bit  by  bit.  To  spell  out  the  hymns  in  the  book 
by  myself  was  like  finding  foot-prints  on  the  sands, 
and  that  was  something.  It  made  me  feel  my  trouble 
was  no  madness,  as  poor  mother  called  it;  no  mad 
dream,  but  waking  up  from  the  maddest  dream  that 
could  be.  It  made  me  see  that  others  had  felt  as  I 
felt,  and  struggled  as  I  was  struggling,  and   had  got 


THE  WESLEYS.  269 

through  !  But  when  I  went  to  the  class,  and  heard  them 
sing  the  hymns,  it  was  like  hearing  voices  on  the  top 
of  the  cliifs,  cheering  me  up  and  pointing  out  the 
way.  Our  class-leader  is  no  great  speaker,  but  he 
has  got  a  wonderful  feeling  heart,  and  a  fine  voice  for 
the  hymns,  and  it  ^s  they  that  has  finished  Parson 
Wesley's  work  and  healed  the  wound  he  made: 

**  Depth  of  mercy !  can  there  be 
Mercy  still  reserved  for  me?" 

That  was  the  first  that  settled  down  in  my  heart.  I 
could  n't  listen  any  further,  and  I  could  n't  get  that 
out  of  my  head  for  days,  until  another  took  its  place — 

"Jesus,  let  thy  pitying  eye 

Call  back  a  wandering  sheep ; 
False  to  thee,  like  Peter,  I 

Would  fain  like  Peter  weep. 
Let  me  be  by  grace  restored ; 

On  me  be  all  long-suffering  shown ; 
Turn,  and  look  upon  me,  Lord, 

And  break  my  heart  of  stone! 

For  thine  own  compassion's  sake. 

The  gracious  wonder  show ; 
Cast  my  sins  behind  thy  back, 

And  wash  me  white  as  snow. 
If  thy  bowels  now  are  stirred, 

If  now  I  do*  myself  bemoan, 
Turn,  and  look  upon  me,  Lord, 

And  break  my  heart  of  stone! 

Look,  as  when  thy  languid  eye 

Was  closed,  that  we  might  live — 
*  Father'  (at  the  point  to  die 

My  Savior  gasped),  'forgive!' 
Surely,  with  that  dying  word, 

He  turns,  and  looks,  and  cries,  "Tis  done!' 
0  my  bleeding,  loving  Lord, 

Thou  break'st  my  heart  of  stone.'  " 


270  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

"  That  hymn^  Toby  said,  seemed  to  put  a  new  pic- 
ture in  his  heart.  Instead  of  the  pale  face  of  the  poor 
lad,  lying  lifeless  on  the  sands,  which  had  lately 
haunted  him  night  and  day,  another  countenance  rose 
before  him,  pale  and  all  but  lifeless,  but  with  the 
hollow  eyes,  large  with  pain,  fixed  in  the  tenderest 
pity  on  him.  He  understood  that  "  God  was  in  Christ 
reconciling  the  Avorld  unto  himself."  He  felt  that  it 
was  the  face  of  the  Judge  that  looked  so  tenderly  on 
him  from  the  cross;  that  suffering,  beyond  any  he 
had  ever  dreaded,  had  been  borne  for  him  by  the 
Lord  himself— made  sin  for  him.  And  he  felt  that 
he  was  forgiven. 

"  Then  all  day  his  heart  seemed  bursting  with  the 
joy  of  reconciliation,  and  he  was  singing — 

'Thee  will  I  love,  my  joy,  ray  crown  ; 

Thee  will  I  love,  my  Lord,  my  God ; 
Thee  will  I  love,  beneath  thy  frown 

Or  smile,  thy  scepter  or  thy  rod  ; 
What  though  my  flesh  and  heart  decay ; 
Thee  shall  I  love  in  endless  day.' 

Everywhere  that  dying  face  of  his  Savior  seemed 
beaming  on  him  in  the  fullness  of  pity  and  love,  and 
those  words — ^'Tis  done!  Father,  forgive!' — filled 
all  the  world  with  music.  He  could  see  or  hear 
nothing  else. 

"^  And  now?'  said  mother. 

"•  ^  Now,  missis,'  said  Toby,  '  I  see  all  things  once 
more  as  they  are;  but  it  seems  as  if  everything  were 
changed  inwardly,  though  the  outside  is  the  same. 
The  curse  is  taken  out  of  every  thing.  Even  that 
poor,    dead   lad's  face,    I  see   it  now,  and  I  am  not 


THE  WESLEYS.  271 

afeared.  For  it  seems  to  say :  ''  Not  to  me,  Toby,  it 's 
too  late,  I  want  nothing;  not  to  me,  but  to  all  the 
rest,  for  my  sake."  And  the  two  faces  seem  to  get 
mixed  up  in  my  mind.  Missis — the  poor,  drowned  lad's 
and  His — and  still  the  words  the  dumb  lips  speak  are 
the  same  :  "  Not  to  me  ;  all  is  well  with  me ;  but  to  all 
the  rest  for  my  sake.''  And  that,'  concluded  Toby,  '  is 
what  I  live  in  hopes  it  will  be  given  me  to  do  before 
I  die.' 

"^How,  Toby?' 

" '  Why,  Missis,'  he  said,  ^  I  watch  for  the  wrecks 
more  than  ever  I  did  in  old  time.  I  watch  for  the 
crews  as  I  never  watched  for  the  cargoes.  And  one 
of  these  days  it  is  my  belief  the  Lord  will  give  me 
to  save  some  of  them,  and  to  see  some  poor,  lifeless 
souls  wake  up  to  life  again  up  there  by  mother's  fire. 
And  then  I  shall  feel  those  two  faces  smiling  on  me 
up  in  heaven — the  poor,  drowned  lad's,  missis,  and 
the  blessed  Lord's  himself  And  that  will  be  reward 
enough  for  an  angel,  let  alone  that  an  angel  could 
never  know  the  shame,  and  the  sin,  and  the  bitter 
reproaches  in  my  heart,  that  makes  it  like  heaven  to 
me  to  dare  to  look  up  in  his  face  at  all.' " 

One  of  the  most  notable  of  Charles  Wesley's  hymns 
is  that  known  as  ^^  Wrestling  Jacob" — beginning, 
"Come,  O  thou  Traveler  unknown."  The  testimony 
of  Watts  in  its  favor  has  already  been  quoted.  John 
Wesley  indicated  his  own  estimate  of  this  testimony 
by  incorporating  it  into  the  biographical  notice  of  his 
brother,  in  the  Minutes  of  the  conference,  at  the  time 
of  his  death.  Dean  Trench  says  of  it :  "  Though  not 
eminently  adapted  for  liturgic  use,  it  is  yet  quite  the 


272  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOIOGY. 

noblest  of  Charles  Wesley's  hymns/'  Considered  as  a 
poetical  composition,  this  opinion  might  be  generally 
acquiesced  in ;  but  considered  as  a  hymn,  this  can  by  no 
means  be  true.  It  neither  belongs  to  the  highest  class 
of  Christian  hymns,  nor  does  it  satisfy  the  highest 
conditions  of  utility.  It  is  by  no  means  from  the 
mere  accident  of  being  without  music  well  suited  for 
popular  use  that  it  is  so  seldom  heard,  even  in  the 
social  meetings,  but  because  it  is  not  well  suited  to 
answer  the  purpose  of  a  hymn.  But  its  eminent 
Scripturalness,  its  deep  spirituality,  its  felicity  of 
style,  its  vividness,  and  its  thoroughly  sustained  in- 
terest from  beginning  to  end,  bear  eloquent  testimony 
to  the  wonderful  genius  of  the  author. 

Robert  Southey  pronounces  ^^  Stand  the  omnipo- 
tent decree ''  "  the  finest  lyric  in  the  English  language ;'' 
but  if  the  judgment  of  those  who  have  made  much 
use  of  the  Wesleyan  hymns — and  so  have  made  up 
their  judgment  by  the  test  of  experience  rather  than 
of  literary  taste — is  of  any  value,  there  are  many  finer 
among  the  hymns  of  Mr.  Wesley. 

The  hymn  *^  O  for  a  thousand  tongues  to  sing'' — 
which  has,  from  the  first,  occupied  the  place  of  honor 
in  the  Methodist  hymn-books  of  Great  Britain  and 
America — was  written  on  the  first  anniversary  of  his 
spiritual  birth,  and  so  is,  doubtless  in  an  eminent  de- 
gree, the  outpouring  of  his  own  rapturous  emotions. 

"  Come  away  to  the  skies,  my  beloved,  arise, 
And  rejoice  in  the  day  thou  wast  born ;" 
and 

"  Come,  let  us  ascend,  my  companion  and  friend, 
To  a  taste  of  the  banquet  above," 

were  both  addressed  to  his  wife  on  her  birthday. '^^ 


THE  WESLEYS.  273 

But  beyoDd  question  the  most  popular,  if  not  the 

most  famous,  of  Charles  Wesley's  hymns  is  "  Jesus, 

lover  of  my  soul."     Says  Henry  Ward  Beecher :  "  I 

would  rather  have  written   that   hymn  than  to  have 

the    fame    of   all    the    kings    that    ever    sat    on    the 

earth.     ...     It  will  go  on  singing  until  the   last 

trump  brings  forth  the  angel-band;  and  then,  I  think, 

will   mount   up  on  some  lip  to  the  very  presence  of 

God."     The  last  indication   of  life  that  Dr.   Lyman 

Beecher  gave  was  his  mute  response  to   his  wife,  as 

she  repeated : 

"Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul, 
Let  me  to  thy  bosom  fly." 

"Two  lines  of  this  hymn,"  says  Rev.  Theodore  L. 
Cuyler,  '^have  been  breathed  fervently  and  often  out 
of  bleeding  hearts.  When  we  were  once  in  the  valley 
of  death-shade,  with  one  beautiful  child  in  the  new- 
made  grave  and  the  other  threatened  with  fatal  disease, 
there  was  no  prayer  which  we  said  oftener  than  this — 

'  Leave,  0  leave  me  not  alone ! 
Still  support  and  comfort  me!' 

We  do  not  doubt  that  tens  of  thousands  of  other  be- 
reaved and  wounded  hearts  have  tried  this  piercing 
cry  out  of  the  depths." 

To  Margaret  Wilson,  the  Scotch  martyr,  the  terms 
of  this  hymn  had  a  most  apposite  application,  and  to 
her  was  the  prayer  of  this  hymn  most  blessedly  and 
eminently  fulfilled.  A  young  woman  of  eighteen,  she 
had  been  informed  against  as  a  Covenanter,  and  was 
condemned  to  die  by  being  fastened  to  a  stake,  where 
the  slowly  rising  tide  would  come  over  her.  To  try 
her   constancy   still   more   severely,  an   older  woman 


274  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

was  also  fastened  to  a  stake  still  lower  down,  in  order 
that  the  sight  of  her  death-agonies  might  move  Mar- 
garet. As  the  waters  rose,  and  she  saw  her  aged 
companion  wrestling  with  death,  the  heartless  men 
asked  Margaret :  ^'  What  do  you  see  there  ?'^  "  I  see," 
said  Margaret,  unmoved,  ^^  Christ  suffering  there.  Do 
you  think  we  are  the  sufferers?  No,  it  is  Christ  in  us; 
for  he  sends  none  on  a  warfare  upon  his  own  charges." 
She  then  chanted  the  Twenty-fifth  Psalm,  beginning — 

*'  Let  not  the  errors  of  my  youth, 
Nor  sins,  remembered  be  ; 
In  mercy,  for  thy  goodness'  sake, 
O  Lord,  remember  me." 

Afterward  she  repeated,  with  a  cheerful  voice,  the 
eighth  chapter  of  Romans,  ending:  "For  I  am  per- 
suaded that  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor 
principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor 
things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other 
creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love 
of  God,  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus,  my  Lord."  And 
then,  as  she  was  commending  her  soul  to  God  in 
prayer,  the  waters  of  the  dark  and  solemn  sea  closed 
over  her.  She  had  found  in  Christ's  bosom  a  refuge 
from  the  nearer  waters  of  earthly  danger  and  death. 
Several  accounts  have  been  given  of  the  origin  of 
this  hymn,  but  all  are  of  more  than  doubtful  authen- 
ticity. The  most  elaborate  and  interesting  of  these 
is  given  in  Eev.  Edwin  M.  Long's  "  History  of  the 
Hymns,"  and  of  it  Mr.  Long  says:  "These  interest- 
ing facts  were  given  by  Mr.  Pi  1  more,  who  was  an  eye- 
witness, to  an  intimate  friend,  Mr.  Hicks,  who  stated 
them  to  Rev.  I.  H.  Torrence,  of  Philadelphia,  from 


THE  WESLEYS.  275 

whom  1  received  them.  The  same  statement  was  also 
previously  given  to  me  by  the  aged  Rev.  Dr.  Collier, 
who  received  it  from  an  Englishman,  who  was  contem- 
porary with  Wesley."     The  story  is  this: 

"Charles  and  John  Wesley  and  Richard  Pilmore  were 
holding  one  of  their  twilight  meetings  on  the  common,  when 
the  mob  assailed  them,  and  they  were  compelled  to  flee  for 
their  lives.  Being  separated  for  a  time,  as  they  were  being 
pelted  with  stones,  they  at  length,  in  their  flight,  succeeded  in 
getting  beyond  a  hedge-row,  where  they  prostrated  themselves 
on  the  ground,  and  placed  their  hands  on  the  back  of  their 
heads  for  protection  from  the  stones,  which  still  came  so  near 
that  they  could  feel  the  current  of  air  made  by  the  missiles  as 
they  went  whizzing  over  them.  In  the  night-shades  that  were 
gathering,  they  managed  to  hide  from  the  fury  of  the  rabble 
in  a  spring-house.  Here  they  struck  a  light  with  a  flint-stone, 
and  after  dusting  their  clothes  and  washing,  they  refreshed 
themselves  with  the  cooling  water  that  came  bubbling  up  in 
a  spring,  and  rolling  out  in  a  silver  streamlet.  Charles  Wesley 
pulled  out  a  lead  pencil — made  by  hammering  to  a  point  a 
piece  of  lead — and  from  the  inspiration  of  these  surroundings, 
composed  the  precious  hymn."  ^2 » 

One  of  the  most  solemn  and  impressive  of  all  these 
hymns  of  Charles  Wesley  reflects  the  scenery  of 
Land^s  End,  even  more  vividly  than  do  any  of 
Watts's  that  of  Southampton.  The  second  verse  of 
the  hymn  "Thou  God  of  glorious  majesty"  reads  as 
follows : 

"  Lo !  on  a  narrow  neck  of  land, 
'Twixt  two  unbounded  seas,  I  stand 

Secure,  insensible ; 
A  point  of  time,  a  moment's  space, 
Removes  me  to  that  heavenly  place, 
Or  shuts  me  up  in  hell." 

The  hymn  above  mentioned  as  praised  by  Southey — 
'*  Stand   the    omnipotent  decree  " — doubtless    derives 


276  STUDIES  IN  HYMNOLOGY. 

much  of  its  special  interest  and  impressiveness  in 
that  it  was  written  "For  the  Year  1756^^ — a  time 
when  men  were  appalled  by  the  terrible  calamity  of 
the  great  Lisbon  earthquake.  Read  in  the  light  of 
this  fearful  catastrophe,  the  sublimity  of  its  almost 
unequaled  utterances  is  fully  evident : 

"  Stand  the  omnipotent  decree  ; 

Jehovah's  will  be  done  ; 
Nature's  end  we  wait  to  see, 

And  hear  her  final  groan. 
Let  this  earth  dissolve,  and  blend 

In  death  the  wicked  and  the  just; 
Let  those  ponderous  orbs  descend. 

And  grind  us  into  dust ! 

Rests  secure  the  righteous  man ; 

At  his  Redeemer's  beck, 
Sure  to  emerge,  and  rise  again, 

And  mount  above  the  wreck. 
Lo !  the  heavenly  spirit  towers. 

Like  flames  o'er  nature's  funeral  pyre ; 
Triumphs  in  immortal  powers, 

And  claps  his  wings  of  fire. 

Ndthing  hath  the  just  to  lose, 

By  worlds  on  worlds  destroyed ; 
Far  beneath  his  feet  he  views. 

With  smiles,  the  flaming  void ; 
Sees  this  universe  renewed, 

The  grand,  millennial  reign  begun ; 
Shouts,  with  all  the  sons  of  God, 

Around  the  eternal  throne." 

Come,  let  us  join  our  friends  above, 

was  a  special  favorite  with  John  Wesley.  It  is  the 
concluding  part  of  what  was  originally  a  long  poem 
of  more  than  a  hundred  lines;  which  poem  has  been 
divided   into    four    hymns,  which,  in    the    Methodist 


THE  WESLEYS.  277 

Hymnal,   are   made   to    follow  each  other  in    proper 
order.     The  part  commencing, 

Come,  let  us  join  our  friends  above, 
is  a  tender  and  beautiful  tribute  to  the  memory  of 
the  pious  dead.  One  of  the  most  tender  traditions 
of  the  later  years  of  John  Wesley  is  that  which  rep- 
resents him  as  having,  on  one  occasion,  come  to  the 
chapel  at  City  Roads,  where  he  was  to  preach  that 
evening ;  and  as  the  shades  of  the  evening  were  gath- 
ering around  him,  standing  with  his  head  bowed  on 
his  hand,  as  if  holding  communion  with  the  invisible 
world;  and  then  giving  out  this  hymn,  in  which  he 
seemed  to  gather  up  the  precious  memories  which 
bound  him  to  the  first  band  of  heroic  workers,  of 
which  he  was  then  almost  the  sole  survivor: 

"  Come,  let  us  join  our  friends  above. 
That  have  obtained  the  prize. 
And  on  the  eagle-wings  of  love 
To  joys  celestial  rise.     .     .     . 

One  family  we  dwell  in  Him ; 

One  church  above,  beneath, 
Though  now  divided  by  the  stream. 

The  narrow  stream  of  death. 
One  army  of  the  living  God, 

To  his  command  we  bow ; 
Part  of  his  host  have  crossed  the  flood, 

And  part  are  crossing  now. 

Our  old  companions  in  distress, 

We  haste  again  to  see ; 
And  eager  long  for  our  release, 

And  full  felicity. 
E'en  now,  by  faith,  we  join  our  hands 

With  those  that  went  before ; 
And  greet  the  blood-besprinkled  bands 

On  the  eternal  shore." 


ADDITIONAL  NOTES. 


Bv  THE  Editor. 


CHAPTER  I. 

(1)  Dr.  Schaff  says  that  the  number  of  German  hymns  can 
not  fall  short  of  100,000.  Dean  George  Ludvig  von  Harden- 
berg,  of  Halberstadt,  in  1786,  prepared  a  catalogue  of  first  lines 
of  72,733  hymns,  and  the  number,  not  completed  then,  has 
been  greatly  increased  since. 

^2)  Of  these  two  hymns,  the  first  was  composed  for  his 
wife's  twenty-ninth  birthday,  October,  12,  1755;  the  second 
seems  to  have  been  generally  "for  Christian  friends,"  and  ap- 
peared in  the  author's  "  Hymns  and  Sacred  Poems,"  1749.  It 
was  of  this  latter  hymn  that  the  saintly  Fletcher  said :  "  When 
the  triumphal  chariot  of  perfect  love  gloriously  carries  you  to 
the  top  of  perfection's  hill ;  w^hen  you  are  raised  far  above  the 
common  heights  of  the  perfect ;  when  you  are  almost  trans- 
lated into  glory,  like  Elijah, — then  you  may  sing  this  hymn." 

C3)  Composed  during  a  solitary  walk  in  the  field,  when  the 
poet  was  tortured  by  an  apprehension  of  returning  madness. 
It  was  the  last  he  ever  wrote  for  the  famous  Olney  collection. 

(4)  Part  of  the  hymn  found  in  the  Olney  collection,  en- 
titled "Looking  at  the  Cross,"  and  beginning — 

"  In  evil,  long  I  took  delight, 
Unawed  by  shame  or  fear, 
Till  a  new  object  struck  my  sight, 
And  stopped  my  wild  career." 

(5)  A  selection  from  a  poem  of  ten  stanzas,  entitled  "  De- 
siring Resignation  and  Thankfulness,"  the  first  stanza  of 
which  is — 

"  When  I  survey  life's  varied  scene. 
Amid  the  darkest  hours, 
Sweet  pays  of  comfort  shine  between, 
And  thorns  are  mixed  with  flowers.*' 

(6)  From  the  Evening  Hymn  in  the  "Christian  Year." 
The  original  has  fourteen  stanzas,  of  which  the  third,  seventh, 

278 


ADDITIONAL  NOTES.  279 

eighth,  and  last  three  verses,  are  usually  given  in  hymn  col- 
lections. 

(7)  This,  one  of  Wesley's  hymns  for  children,  is  given  en- 
tire in  the  Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  968,  and  begins,  "And  am 
I  only  born  to  die?"    Two  stanzas  are  here  omitted. 

CHAPTER   II. 

(i)  "Poesy  is  of  so  subtle  a  spirit  that,  in  pouring  of  one 
language  into  another,  it  will  evaporate."— Denham. 

(2)  The  Trisagion  is  said  to  have  been  first  introduced  into 
the  Liturgy  in  the  reign  of  the  younger  Theodosius  (408-450), 
but  it  is  probably  much  older.  Tradition  has  it  that  it  was 
supernaturally  communicated  to  the  terror-stricken  popula- 
tion of  Constantinople  during  an  earthquake  of  St.  Proclus 
(A.  D.  434). 

f3)  The  Gloria  consisted  originally  of  the  few  words  in  Luke 
ii,  14,  to  which  subsequent  additions  were  made— first  in  the 
Greek,  then  in  the  Latin  church— until,  in  the  fifth  ceVtury,  it 
is  found  substantially  as  in  use  to-day. 

(4)  There  is  a  legend  to  the  effect  that  Ambrose  composed 
and  sang  the  Te  Deum  by  inspiration,  when  he  baptized  Au- 
gustine ;  also,  that  they  sang  it  responsively.  This  latter  sug- 
gestion has  been  poetically  wrought  out  by  Mrs.  Margaret  J. 
Preston,  in  "The  First  Te  Deum''  (see  her  "Colonial  Ballads," 
1887).  It  is  generally  believed  to  be  a  composite  of  some 
Greek  morning  hymns  and  metrical  renderings  of  Scriptural 
passages. 

(5)  Farrar  (Lives  of  the  Fathers,  I,  278)  doubts  the  gen- 
uineness of  this  hymn,  claiming  that,  while  it  is  beautiful  and 
interesting,  it  probably  belongs  to  a  later  age. 

(6)  This  version  is  found  in  the  Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  885. 

(7)  The  author  mentions  a  dozen  others  by  title,  one  of 
which  deserves  more  than  passing  notice;  namely,  "  Redeemer 
of  the  nations,  come !"  Dr.  SchafF  calls  this  the  best  of  the 
Ambrosian  hymns,  full  of  faith,  rugged  vigor,  austere  sim- 
plicity, and  bold  contrasts.  We  subjoin  the  first  and  last 
stanzas  (of  seven)  in  Dr.  Ray  Palmer's  translation  : 

"  O  Tbou,  Redeemer  of  our  race ! 

Come,  show  the  Virgin's  Son  to  earth; 


280  ADDITIONAL  NOTES, 

Liet  every  age  admire  the  grace ; 
Worthy  a  God  thy  human  birth  ! 


With  light  divine  thy  manger  streams, 

That  kindles  darlcness  into  day ; 
Dimmed  by  no  night  henceforth,  its  beams 

Shine  through  all  time  with  changeless  ray." 

The  translation  by  John  Franck,  Trench  calls  one  of  the 
choicest  treasures  of  the  German  hymn-book,  and  Bunsen 
says  it  is  "even  deeper  and  lovelier  than  the  Latin."  See 
Lyra  Oermanica,  First  Series,  page  186. 

(s)  Confessions,  ix,  6.  "  How  greatly  did  I  weep  in  thy 
hymns  and  canticles,  deeply  moved  by  the  voices  of  thy  sweet- 
speaking  church !  The  voices  flowed  into  mine  ears,  and  the 
truth  was  poured  forth  mto  my  heart,  whence  the  agitation  of 
my  piety  overflowed,  and  my  tears  ran  over,  and  blessed  was  I 
therein." 

(9)  Confessions,  ix,  7. 

CHAPTER  III. 

<i)  The  original  is  still  in  use  in  the  Roman  church,  being 
sung  on  Good  Friday,  during  the  procession  in  which  the  con- 
secrated host  is  carried  to  the  altar.  This  hymn  is  selected  as 
one  of  "  the  seven  great  hymns  of  the  medieval  church  "  by 
the  editor  of  a  work  bearing  that  name,  and  published  by 
A.  D.  F.  Randolph  &  Co.,  New  York. 

(2)  This  famous  hymn  is  said  by  Rev.  John  Ellerton,  the 
translator,  to  be,  with  the  same  author's  "Crux  benedicta 
nitet,"  the  earliest  instance  of  elegiac  verse  in  Christian  song. 
The  transfusion  of  Ellerton's,  which  finds  a  place  in  the  hymn 
collections,  is  in  a  diff'erent  measure  from  the  original,  which 
runs: 

"  Salve  festa  dies,  toto  venerabilis  sevo. 
Qua  Deus  infernum  vicit,  et  astra  tenet, 
Salve  festa  dies,  toto  venerabilis  sevo." 

Throughout  the  poem  the  first  two  lines  of  this  verse  form  the 
third  line  of  the  other  verses  alternately.  The  festal  day  re- 
ferred to  is  Easter. 

(3)  Besides  Charlemagne  and  Gregory,  the  authorship  has 
been  claimed  for  Rabanus,  archbishop  of  Mayence  (776-856). 


ADDITIONAL  NOTES.  281 

Dryden's  version  in  English  has  been  commended  by  Warton 
as  "a  most  elegant  and  beautiful  little  morsel,  and  one  of  his 
most  correct  compositions."     It  opens : 

"  Creator  Spirit,  by  whose  aid 
The  world's  foundations  first  were  laid, 
Come,  visit  every  pious  mind  ; 
Come,  pour  ihy  joys  on  human  kind ; 
From  sin  and  sorrow  set  us  free, 
And  raalie  thy  temples  worthy  thee." 

(4)  The  translation  by  Ray  Palmer  is  found  in  the  Method- 
ist Hymnal,  No.  284.  Miss  Winkworth  furnishes  a  translation 
of  this  hymn  from  the  German  for  the  "Lyra  Germanica," 
which,  according  to  competent  authority,  is  a  finer  translation 
than  any  that  professes  to  be  from  the  Latin.  We  give  the 
second  and  third  stanzas : 

"  Come,  Father  of  tlie  poor,  to  earth  ; 
Come,  with  thy  gifts  of  precious  worth  ; 
Come,  Light  of  all  of  mortal  birth  ! 

Thou  rich  in  comfort!    Ever  blest 

The  heart  where  thou  art  constant  guest, 

Who  giv'st  tlie  heavy-laden  rest." 

(5)  See  Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  1047,  where  it  has  been  con- 
siderably altered.  Dr.  Neale,  the  translator,  thinks  it  "  ex- 
tremely pretty"  as  a  song,  but  not  intended  for  Church  use. 

(6)  Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  230.  It  is  still  in  use  in  the 
Greek  church,  and  Neale,  in  his  "Hymns  of  the  Eastern 
Church"  (p.  92),  quotes  a  graphic  account  of  the  celebration  in 
which  it  is  sung. 

CHAPTER   IV. 

'^>  The  hymns  of  Bernard,  cited  here,  are  all  in  the  Meth- 
odist Hymnal,  the  second  and  fourth  being  especial  favorites 
with  our  people.  "Of  him  who  did  salvation  bring"  was,  at 
one  time,  credited  to  Charles  Wesley ;  the  matter  and  style  of 
the  poem  bewraying,  as  was  thought,  the  Wesleyan  genius.  It 
was  discovered  afterwards  in  a  book  of  translations  by  A.  W. 
Boehm  (1673-1722),  and  has  since  been  properly  assigned. 
"  Jesus,  the  very  thought  of  thee,"  has  been  denominated  "the 
sweetest  and  most  evangelical  (as  the  DtVs  Irce  is  the  grandest, 

19 


282  ADDITIONAL  NOTES. 

and  the  Stabat  Mater  the  most  pathetic)  hymn  of  the  Middle 
Ages."  Trench,  selecting  fifteen  of  the  forty-eight  or  fifty 
quatrains  for  his  "Latin  Poetry,"  remarks:  "Where  all  was 
beautiful,  the  task  of  selecting  was  a  hard  one." 

(2)  For  the  benefit  of  Latin  scholars  we  subjoin  the  text: 

"  Sicut  chorda  musicorum 
Tandem  sonum  dat  sonorum 

Plectri  ministerio, 
Sic  in  chely  tormentorum 
Melos  Christi  confessorum 

Martyris  dat  tensio. 

Parum  sapis  vim  sinapis, 
Si  non  tangis,  si  non  frangis; 
Et  plus  fragrat,  quando  flagi-at, 

Tus  injectum  ignibus; 
Sic  arctatus  et  assatus, 
Sub  ardore,  sub  labore, 
Dat  odorem  pleniorem 

Martyr  de  virtutibus." 

(3)  The  late  Rev.  S.  W.  Duffield  essayed  a  translation,  pre- 
serving the  original  measure,  thus — 

"  These  are  the  latter  times ;  these  are  not  better  times ; 
Let  us  stand  waiting  ; 
Lo!  how,  with  awfulness,  He,  first  in  lawfulness, 
Comes  arbitrating." 

W  Of  the  Stabat  Mater  (Dolorosa)  Dr.  Schafi*  says:  "It  is 
the  most  pathetic  .  .  .  hymn  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  oc- 
cupies second  rank  in  Latin  hymnology.  Suggested  by  the  in- 
cident related  in  John  xix,  25,  and  the  prophecy  of  Simeon 
(Luke  ii,  35),  it  describes,  with  overpowering  eff*ect,  the  pierc- 
ing agony  of  Mary  at  the  cross,  and  the  burning  desire  to  be 
identified  with  her,  by  sympathy,  in  the  intensity  of  her  grief. 
It  furnished  the  text  for  the  noblest  musical  compositions  of 
Palestrina,  Pergolesi,  Haydn,  and  others.  .  .  .  The  soft,  sad 
melody  of  its  verse  is  untranslatable." 

^5)  The  Stabat  Mater  (Speciosa)  was  brought  to  public 
notice  through  the  researches  of  A.  F.  Ozanam  (1852),  and 
introduced  more  particularly  to  American  readers  by  Dr. 
Philip  Schaff",  in  an  article  in  "  Hours  at  Home,"  May,  1867. 


ADDITIONAL  NOTES.  283 

The  question  of  authorship  is  not  settled,  and  Dr.  Coles  argues 
a  twofold  authorship  of  the  hymns  from  internal  evidence. 

'^*^>  Quoted  from  Mrs.  Charles's  "Voice  of  Christian  Life  in 
Song,"  one  of  the  most  scholarly  and  interesting  works  on  the 
subject  of  hymnology. 

CHAPTER   V. 

(1)  Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  911.    The  two  martyrs  referred 

to  are  Henry  Voes  and  John  Esch,  whose  martyrdom  took 

place  in  1523.     After  the  fires  were  kindled,  they  repeated  the 

Apostles'   Creed,   sang  the   "  Te   Deum,''^  and  prayed   in  the 

flames:    "Jesus,  thou  Son  of  David,  have  mercy  upon  us!" 

The  original  poem  consists  of  twelve  nine-line  stanzas,  and 

begins — 

"  Ein  neues  Lied  wir  heben  an." 

The  tenth  stanza  is  the  basis  of  the  hymn  quoted.  Professor 
Bayne,  in  his  recent  Life  of  Luther,  speaks  of  it  as  a  "  bal- 
lad— rugged,  indeed,  and  with  little  grace  or  ornament  of  com- 
position, but  tingling,  every  line  of  it,  with  sincerity  and  in- 
tensity."    The  meter  is  preserved  in  the  following: 

'♦  With  joy  they  stepped  into  the  flame, 
God's  praises  calmly  singing. 
Strange  pangs  of  rage,  amazement,  sliame 
The  sophists'  hearts  are  wringing; 
For  God  they  feel  is  here." 

(2)  Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  166.  The  imagery  of  the  hymn 
is  derived  from  the  forty-sixth  Psalm.  The  hymn  has  com- 
monly been  assigned  to  1529 ;  but  the  recent  discovery  of  a 
print  dating  apparently  from  February,  1528,  has  led  Kos- 
tlin  to  assign  the  hymn  to  1527,  the  year  of  the  pestilence, 
and  of  Luther's  severest  spiritual  and  physical  trials.  Dr. 
Bayne  says  of  Luther's  hymns:  "  It  may  be  said  generally  that 
they  are  characterized  by  a  rugged  but  fundamentally  melo- 
dious rhythm,  a  piercing  intensity  and  expressiveness,  with 
tender,  lovely,  picturesque  touches  here  and  there.  Above 
all,  they  are  sincere.  They  seem  to  thrill  with  an  intensity  of 
feeling  beyond  their  power  of  expression,  like  the  glistening 
of  stars  whose  silence  speaks  of  God." 

(3)  Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  569.  The  authorship  of  this 
hymn  was  long  ascribed  to  Altenburg,  a  pastor  in  Thuringia ; 
but  recent  researches,   according  to  Miss   Winkworth,   have 


284  ADDITIONAL  NOTES. 

made  it  clear  that  he  only  composed  the  chorale,  and  that  the 
hymn  itself  was  written  down  roughly  by  Gustavus  himself, 
after  his  victory  at  Leipsic,  and  reduced  to  regular  verse  by 
his  chaplain,  Dr.  Fabricius,  for  the  use  of  the  army. 

*^4) Translated  by  Miss  Winkworth  in  "Lyra  Germanica," 
second  series,  beginning,  "Now  lay  me  calmly  in  the  grave." 

(5)  Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  694.  The  translation  consists  of 
eleven  stanzas. 

(6) Interesting  and  beautiful  as  the  story  is,  it  has  to  be 
said  that  Gerhard's  ministry  did  not  close  in  Berlin  until  1667, 
and  that  the  hymn  was  in  existence  in  1666.  Kubler  says  it 
was  first  published  in  1659. 

(7)  Methodist  Hymnal,  Nos.  119,  478.  It  is  said  that  most  of 
Scheffler's  hymns  were  written  before  he  entered  the  Roman 
communion.  Schultze,  a  German  missionary  in  Madras,  in 
1722,  translated  Scheffler's  "  Liebe,  die  der  mich  zum  Bilde " 
into  Tamil  for  his  people,  and  it  so  delighted  them  that  he 
translated  more  than  one  hundred  of  the  best  German  hymns 
for  their  use,  and  they  are  still  sung  in  South  India. 

(8) Miss  Winkworth  says:  "His  hymns  have  great  beauty, 
and  bespeak  a  tranquil  and  child-like  soul,  fflled  and  blessed 
with  the  contemplation  of  God."    - 

(9)Zinzendorf  was  a  prolific  writer.  He  is  said  to  have 
composed  about  two  thousand  hymns,  many  of  which  were 
produced  extemporaneously.  The  Brethren  took  them  down 
and  preserved  them.  Zinzendorf  says  of  them,  in  speaking  of 
his  services  at  Berlin:  "After  the  discourse,  I  generally  an- 
nounce another  hymn  appropriate.  When  I  can  not  find  one, 
I  compose  one ;  I  say,  in  the  Savior's  name,  what  comes  into 
my  heart."     Quoted  by  Josiah  Miller. 

(10) Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  1086.  For  an  account  of  liis 
life  and  criticism  of  his  style,  see  Longfellow's  "Poets  and 
Poetry  of  Europe,"  p.  267. 

(11)  Methodist  Hymnal,  Nos.  755,  1010.  The  original  of 
this  last  hymn  was  sung  at  the  grave  of  the  author  when  he 
was  buried.  A  favorite  pastime  with  Dr.  Spitta  was  to  sing  in 
the  evening,  with  his  two  daughters,  hymns  and  tunes  of  his 
own  composing,  and  so  attractive  was  this  performance  that 
crowds  were  wont  to  gather  at  his  window  to  listen. 

(12' Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  993.  This  hymn  was  used  at 
the  funeral  of  the  translator,  Dr.  Bethune,  who  died  in  1862. 


ADDITIONAL  NOTES.  285 

(I'^'The  German  version  is  by  Albert  Knapp:  "Nein,  iiein, 
das  ist  kein  Sterben."  Duffield  ("English  Hymns")  inti- 
mates that  Malan's  hymn  was  a  version  of  Knapp's,  and  not, 
as  Dr.  Hemenway  implies  (whose  view  is  also  Dr.  Schaff's,  see 
"Gesangbuch  "  and  "Christ  in  Song"),  the  other  way. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

•^^^  Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  152.  The  second  verse  of  the 
hymn,  as  written  by  Sternhold,  was: 

"On  cherubs  and  on  cherubims 
Full  royally  he  rode, 
And  on  the  wings  of  all  the  winds 
Came  flying  all  abroad." 

Duffield  says  it  is  related  of  the  learned  Scaliger— whether 
father  or  son  is  not  stated — that  he  would  rather  have  been 
the  author  of  this  stanza  than  to  have  written  his  own  works. 

(-'Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  11.  This  was  the  first  British 
composition  to  which  the  tune  "Old  Hundred"  was  united, 
and,  as  is  seen,  gave  its  own  name  to  the  tune.  The  author- 
ship is  contested,  Duffield,  in  his  "English  Hymns,"  assigning 
it  to  John  Hopkins,  who,  with  Sternhold,  Kethe,  and  others, 
published  a  rendering  of  the  Psalms. 

'=^' Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  156.  Under  the  persecution  of 
James  VI.,  six  ministers  were  banished  for  their  independence 
of  the  Establishment,  and  were  taken  to  Leith  for  embarka- 
tion. On  the  shore  the  parting  from  friends  and  dear  ones 
was  most  touching.  All  joined  in  singing  this  psalm  accord- 
ing to  the  quaint  version,  two  verses  of  which  are: 

"'He  doth  nie  fold  in  cotes  most  safe, 
Tlie  tender  grass  fast  by; 
And  after  driv'th  me  to  the  streams 
.  Which  run  most  pleasantly. 


And  though  1  were  even  at  death's  door, 

Yet  would  I  fear  none  ill; 
For  by  thy  rod  and  shepherd's  crook, 

I  am  comforted  still." 

'■"See  Chapter  III. 

•^'The  hymn  "How  are  thy  servants  blest,  O  Lord!"  is 
usually  called  the  "Traveler's  Hymn."  It  was  composed  on 
shipboard  during  a  terrific  storm,  in  which  all  was  given  up  for 


286  ADDITIONAL  NOTES. 

lost.  AVhile  the  captain,  in  terror,  was  confessing  bis  sins  to 
a  Capuchin  friar,  Addison  was  solacing  himseU  with  the  com- 
position of  this  song  of  praise  and  trust. 

'6)  Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  669.  This  is  part  of  a  poem  of 
eight  double  stanzas,  beginning,  "  My  whole,  though  broken, 
heart,  O  Lord,"  and  entitled,  "The  Covenant  and  Confidence 
of  Faith."  It  has  this  note  appended:  "This  covenant  my 
dear  wife,  in  her  former  sickness,  subscribed  with  a  cheerful 
will.  Job  xii,  26."  The  hymn  was  a  favorite  with  the  em- 
inent scientist  Clerk  Maxwell,  who  frequently  repeated  it  dur- 
ing his  last  illness. 

'") Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  268.  Considerably  altered,  and 
for  the  better,  by  John  Wesley. 

^8^  Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  666.  The  first  verse  originally 
stood : 

"Shall  Simon  bear  thy  cross  alone, 
Aud  other  saints  be  free? 
Each  saint  of  thine  shall  find  his  own, 
And  there  is  one  for  me." 

'^'Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  969.  For  an  interesting  ac- 
count of  the  evolution  of  this  hymn,  see  article  by  Rev.  C.  S. 
Nutter,  author  of  "Hymn  Studies,"  in  New  York  Christian  Ad- 
vocate of  August  26,  1886. 

(10) Methodist  Hymnal,  No.  1044.  The  hymn  has  been 
traced  to  the  collection  of  "  Williams  and  Boden"  (1801),  where 
it  is  credited  to  the  Eckington  Collection.  Duflield  conjectures 
that  as  Rev.  James  Boden,  one  of  the  editors,  lived  and  died 
near  Eckington^  Yorkshire,  this  may  have  been  his  version  of 
"F.  B.  P.'s"  hymn.  For  a  fine  critical  and  historical  sketch 
of  this  famous  hymn  see  W.  C.  Prime's  monograph,  "O 
mother  dear,  Jerusalem"  (New  York,  3d  edition,  1865).  The 
Latin  hymn  referred  to  as  given  by  Daniel  (  Thesaurus  Hymno- 
Jogicus)  consists  of  forty-eight  lines,  and  begins: 

Urbs  beata  lerusalem  dicta  pacis  visio. 

The  "F.  B.  P."  version,  as  given  by  Dr.  Bonar,  opens: 

"  Hierusalem,  my  happy  home, 
When  shall  I  come  to  thee  ? 
When  shall  my  sorrows  have  an  end?- 
Thy  joys  when  shall  I  see?" 

and  contains  twenty-six  stanzas. 


ADDITIONAL  NOTES.  287 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Page  5.  ('^It  is  only  proper  to  state  that  the  assignment 
of  this  hymn  to  that  occasion  is  based  upon  a  tradition  which, 
according  to  Dr.  E.  F.  Hatfield,  an  authority  on  the  subject, 
"is  probably  founded  on  the  fact  that  the  hymn  appears  as 
No.  1  of  his  first  book." 

^-)Dean  Stanley,  however,  said  of  the  same  composition: 
"It  is  not  only  a  hymn  but  a  philosophical  poem,  disfigured, 
indeed,  in  parts  by  the  anatomical  allusions  to  the  shrunk 
sinew,  but  filled,  on  the  whole,  with  a  depth  and  pathos  which 
might  well  excite  Watts  to  say  that  '  it  was  worth  all  the  verses 
ne  himself  had  written,'  and  induce  Montgomery  to  compare 
it  to  the  action  of  a  lyrical  drama." 

CHAPTER   VHI. 

(3) See  Chapter  I,  and  note. 

(4) The  late  Mr.  George  John  Stevenson,  of  London,  and 
one  of  the  best  informed  Wesleyan  hymnologists,  entirely  dis- 
credits this  story  as  of  "pure  Yankee  invention."  There  is 
certainly  nothing  in  the  hymn  itself  to  indicate  that  the  inci- 
dent, if  it  had  any  existence  at  all,  inspired  the  song.  The 
hymn  is  found  in  "Hymns  and  Sacred  Poems,"  1740;  bears 
the  title,  "In  Temptation,"  and  has  five  verses.  The  third 
verse,  usually  omitted  from  collections,  runs : 

"  Wilt  thou  uot  regard  my  call? 

Wilt  thou  not  accept  my  prayer? 

Lo !  I  sink,  I  faint,  I  fall ! 
Lo !  on  thee  I  cast  my  care ! 

Reach  me  out  thy  gracious  hand, 
While  1  of  thy  strength  receive ; 

Hoping  against  hope,  I  stand- 
Dying,  and  behold  I  live  ;" 

and  hints  that  the  Scriptural  suggestion  is  Matt,  xiv,  28,  ^e.q. 
In  temper  and  treatment  the  hymn  is  eminently  contempla- 
tive and  subjective,  the  very  opposite  of  which  might  be  ex- 
pected from  the  spring-house  episode. 


Lectures  ar)cl  S^riT)or)S. 


KDITED    BY 


REV.  A.  W.  PATTEN,  D.  D. 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 


OUT  of  the  great  number  of  Dr.  Hemenway's  lectures, 
sermons,  and  addresses  only  a  few  have  been  selected 
for  publication,  for  the  reason  that  most  of  the  material 
was  in  the  form  of  skeleton  and  syllabus  for  class-room 
work.  The  lectures  on  Pastoral  Theology  and  Biblical  In- 
troduction were  those  by  which  the  Doctor  most  strongly 
impressed  his  students.  It  is,  therefore,  much  to  be  re- 
gretted that  we  can  not  present  these  lectures  in  a  com- 
pleted form.  His  broad  outlook  as  to  the  nature  of  a 
Methodist  preacher's  work,  and  his  power  as  a  preacher, 
may  be  vividly  recalled  by  the  selections  given. 

AMOS  W.  PATTEN. 


LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 


I. 

SPECIAL  QUALIFICATIONS  NEEDED  FOR 
A  METHODIST  PASTOR. 

THE  general  qualifications  demanded  in  a  Chris- 
tian pastor  are  clearly  indicated  by  the  nature  of 
his  office.  He  represents  Christ.  He  is  to  the  flock, 
in  some  sense,  instead  of  Christ.  He  is  in  the  place 
of  Him  who  possessed  a  perfect  manhood.  By  what 
he  is  and  by  what  he  does  he  is  seeking  to  bring 
humanity  nearer  this  perfect  model.  To  stand  be- 
tween Christ  and  his  church,  and  to  represent  Christ 
to  his  church,  calls  for  the  highest  qualities  of  body, 
mind,  and  soul. 

But  it  is  the  object  of  this  paper  to  indicate  not 
the  general  qualifications  needed  in  a  Christian  pas- 
tor, but  the  special  qualifications  demanded  in  a 
Methodist  pastor. 

I.  Acquaintance  and  Sympathy  with  the 
History  of  Methodism. 

Each   of  the  great  denominations,  doubtless,  has 

its  providential  mission.     It  exists  not  by  the  caprice 

or  cunning  or  obstinacy  of  men,  but  by  the  will  of 

God.     It  is  the  product  of  forces  divinely  originated, 

291 


292  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

which  could  not  find  vent,  and  so  created  new  organs 
of  development.  It  is  but  reasonable  to  conclude 
that  each  of  the  great  Christian  denominations  ex- 
presses some  idea — presents  some  phase  of  Christian- 
ity more  perfectly  than  any  other ;  and  there  is  no 
reason  to  doubt  that  all  together  may  at  last  conspire 
to  w^rk  out  a  more  perfect  Christianity  than  the 
world  has  yet  seen.  Under  God's  providence,  men 
are  often  conducted  to  results  of  the  value  and  bless- 
edness of  which  they  themselves  had  formed  no  an- 
tecedent conception.  So,  as  I  can  not  doubt,  many 
denominational  movements  have  been  providentially 
originated  and  conducted  Avith  a  view  to  results  far 
higher  and  broader  than  the  chief  actors  in  them 
ever  dreamed  of. 

Their  leaders  have  builded  wiser  than  they  knew. 
Men  have  had  their  will  in  them,  but  God  has  also 
had  his.  Honest  and  devoted  men,  under  some 
special  inspiration,  have  hewn  out  some  beautiful 
pillar  of  Christian  faith,  and  God  has  builded  it 
into  his  great  spiritual  temple.  They  have  originated 
some  sweet  and  simple  melody,  thinking  thereby 
only  to  express  their  own  experience  more  correctly, 
and  God  has  made  it  one  strain  in  the  universal 
harmony.  At  the  cost  of  much  toil,  suffering,  and 
perhaps  persecution,  they  succeed  in  opening  a  new 
channel  by  which  the  water  of  life  may  come  to 
some  land  which  before  has  been  ^'  dry  and  thirsty." 
God  adopts  it  as  a  part  of  that  network  of  gracious 
supply  which  shall  ultimately  spread  the  world  over. 

Hence  each  denomination  has  an  individual  char- 
acter.    It   is   distino^uished   from   all  others,  not  only 


METHODIST  PASTOR'S  QUALIFICATIONS  293 

in  men'8  minds,  bi:t  also  in  God's  mind.  It  has  not 
only  a  different  creed,  polity,  name,  manner  of  work, 
but,  deeper  down  than  these,  a  different  genius,  a 
different  consciousness,  and  so  a  different  mission. 
Believing,  then,  that  this  consciousness  may  differ  in 
some  degree  from  that  developed  in  other  branches 
of  the  church  and  yet  be  Christian,  and  so  this  mis- 
sion divine,  it  follows  that  every  minister  who  would 
be  an  organ  of  this  denominational  life  should  par- 
take of  this  consciousness  and  recognize  this  mission. 
He  has  no  right  to  bear  the  name  of  a  denomination 
with  which  he  is  not  in  sympathy.  He  has  no  right 
to  assume  to  do  what  he  is  incapable  of  doing — to 
seem  to  be  what  he  is  not. 

It  is,  then,  making  no  narrow  or  bigoted  claim 
that  a  Methodist  pastor  should  be  a  Methodist ;  that 
he  should  be  familiar  with  this  chapter  in  ecclesias- 
tical history;  that  he  should  understand  the  genius 
of  Methodism,  and  be  himself  a  partaker  of  it; 
in  short,  he  should  comprehend  this  great  spiritual 
movement,  and  feel  that  some  of  its  springs  are  in 
his  own  nature.  In  this  he  goes  down  below^  all 
questions  of  polity,  economy,  or  even  doctrine;  he 
leaves  out  of  sight  the  phenomena  which  this  new 
force  has  actually  produced  in  its  historic  develop- 
ment, to  fasten  upon  the  essence  of  the  movement — 
the  principle  in  which  all  these  new  laws  and  regu- 
lations had  their  origin— the  force  which  originated 
these  phenomena,  but  which,  under  other  circum- 
stances, might  produce  other  and  different  results. 

I   repeat,  then,   in   order   to  be  fit  to  be  a  pastor 
in  the  Methodist  Church   a   man    should   understand 


294  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

and  appreciate  Methodism — its  dignity,  its  divine 
significance,  its  achievements  of  good,  its  adaptation 
to  the  wants  of  men,  and  so  its  promise  of  good 
in  the  future.  He  needs  to  see  clearly  and  feel  pro- 
foundly that  this  great  movement  is  a  God-originated 
one ;  that  it  has,  under  God,  given  such  an  impulse 
to  Christian  feeling  on  all  sides  as  to  become  (as 
the  Chnrchman,  Isaac  Taylor,  has  characterized  it) 
"the  starting-point  of  our  modern  religious  history; 
that  the  field-preaching  of  Wesley  and  Whitefield  in 
1739  was  the  event  whence  the  religious  epoch  now 
current  must  date  its  commencement ;  that  back  to 
the  events  of  that  time  must  we  look  necessarily  as 
often  as  we  seek  to  trace  to  its  source  what  is  most 
characteristic  of  the  present  time;  and  that  yet  this 
is  not  all,  for  the  Methodism  of  the  past  age  points 
forward  to  the  next  coming  development  of  the  pow- 
ers of  the  gospel.'' 

Especially  does  he  need  to  see  that  Methodism 
was  not  the  product  of  merely  mechanical  forces  or  of 
ingenious  expedients;  that  it  did  not  result  from  any 
particular  economy  or  manner  of  work,  as  itinerant 
or  lay  preaching,  for  example,  though  its  spirit  may 
have  found  its  natural  expression  in  these,  and  the 
movement  may  have  been  greatly  indebted  to  these 
instrumentalities;  that  it  was  not  the  work  of  any 
man  or  set  of  men,  and  so  due  to  their  sagacity,  fidel- 
ity, zeal,  or  knowledge  of  evangelistic  truth ;  but 
that  it  was  eminently  a  providential  movement,  the 
product  of  spiritual  forces — the  inspiration  of  that 
infinite,  life-giving  spirit  under  whose  influence  all 
the  vital  forces  of  the  church  are  originated.     Hence 


METHODIST  PASTOR'S  QUALIFICATIONS.  295 

it  must  be  understood,  as  Isaac  Taylor  has  so  well 
characterized  it,  as  resulting  from  a  direct,  earnest 
appeal  to  the  religious  consciousness,  such  as  is  char- 
acteristic of  the  teaching  of  Christ  and  his  apostles, 
holding  up  every  man,  in  the  solitude  of  his  own  in- 
dividuality, to  the  scrutiny  of  conscience  and  the 
searching  glance  of  the  omniscient  eye.  It  was  a 
simple  preaching  of  the  gospel,  the  great  truths  of 
which  were  emphasized  and  reiterated  until  they 
came  to  sink  into  the  hearts  of  those  who  heard.  It 
was  a  great  movement  of  evangelistic  philanthropy. 
It  proceeded,  with  some  measure  of  consistency,  on 
the  assumption  that  man  needs  the  gospel,  and  that 
the  gospel  is  for  man.  The  inestimable  worth  of  man 
and  the  fearfulness  of  the  ruin  to  which  he  is  ex- 
posed were  on  one  side,  and  the  ineffable  love  of 
God,  as  revealed  in  an  atoning  Savior,  on  the  other. 
Methodism,  in  the  simplest  manner,  with  downright- 
ness  and  earnestness,  sought  to  bring  these  two  coun- 
terparts together. 

My  brethren,  let  us  see  to  it  that  this  prime  qual- 
ification for  exercising  a  pastorate  in  the  Methodist 
Church  be  ours.  Let  us  strive  to  follow  worthily  in 
the  footsteps  of  the  fathers.  The  product  of  our 
preaching  is  not  to  be  theology  merely,  but  religion. 
Our  business  is  not  to  instruct  men  as  an  end,  but  to 
save  them.  Fall  into  the  history  of  Methodism. 
Catch  the  inspiration  of  this  grand  evangelic  move- 
ment. Tone  up  your  souls  by  studying  the  lives  of 
the  fathers.  Practice  the  same  simplicity,  earnest- 
ness, directness,  evangelic  intensity  which  God  so 
honored  in  Wesley's  time.     As  we  stand  up  to  preach 


296  LECTURES  AND  SERMOAS. 

to  the  people,  let  us  remember  that,  in  the  case  of 
many  of  them,  we  have  '^  but  a  half  hour  out  of  the 
week  to  raise  the  dead  in/'  and  let  this  reflection  in- 
spire us  to  strike  our  most  telling  blows  for  God  and 
truth  and  souls.'  Then  shall  every  sermon  be  a  battle, 
short,  sharp,  decisive,  victorious. 

II.  Acquaintance  and  Sympathy  w^th  the 
Doctrines  of  Methodism. 

Methodism  was  not  primarily  a  doctrinal  move- 
ment. It  did  not  result  in  any  measure  from  an  at- 
tempt to  readjust  the  doctrinal  statements  of  Chris- 
tianity. And  yet  there  has  never,  in  the  whole  his- 
tory of  the  Christian  Church,  been  a  more  marked 
individuality  of  doctrine  than  among  the  people 
called  Methodists.  Their  real  creed  is  a  very  short 
and  simple  one;  but  they  unite  upon  it,  and  it  has 
contributed  much  to  their  marvelous  success.  It  may 
be  characterized  as  evangelical  universalism.  It  rec- 
ognizes the  all-fatherhood  of  God,  a  truth  obscured 
by  Augustinianism  and  perverted  by  Universalism  ; 
the  essential  and  so  the  universal  freedom  and  aecount- 
ahility  of  man;  the  universal  prevalence  of  sin,  and 
the  consequent  utter  helplessness  of  humanity ;  and  the 
all-embracing  atonement  of  Christ,  providing  a  full 
salvation  for  every  man.  This  system  antagonizes  the 
Augustinian  doctrine  of  election  at  every  point,  while 
it  emphasizes  the  spiritual  privileges  of  the  believer. 
It  agrees,  however,  with  Augustinianism  as  against 
Pelagianism  in  maintaining  man's  utter  dependence 
for  all  good  upon  the  grace  of  God.  This  system  of 
doctrine,   then,   is   evangelical  as  against  all  rational- 


METHODIST  PASTORS  QUALIFICATIONS.  297 

isiia  schemes,  and  universal  as  against  all  partial  sys- 
tems. With  Protestants  in  general,  we  reject  all 
papal  additions  to  Christianity;  and  with  all  evan- 
gelical Christians,  we  agree  in  our  beliefs  as  to  a 
future  state. 

Such  is  the  doctrinal  position  of  Methodism.  It 
makes  little  of  the  philosophical  aspect  of  theology, 
but  much  of  its  practical  aspect.  It  assumes  that 
every  characteristic  doctrine  of  Christianity  is  for  the 
sake  of  bringing  men  to  salvation ;  that  the  doctrines 
and  ordinances,  as  well  as  the  living  members  of  the 
church  of  Christ,  all  join  in  one  grand,  universal,  im- 
partial invitation,  "Co7ne  to  Jesus J^  With  these  doc- 
trines every  Methodist  pastor  should  be  in  sympathy. 
There  must  be  in  him  no  theological  exclusiveness. 
He  must  cherish  no  restricted  views  of  the  grace  of 
God.  He  must  indulge  no  proclivities  to  bring 
merely  speculative  notions  into  his  public  teaching; 
for  Methodism  is  in  its  genius  eminently  simple  and 
practical.  Especially  must  his  words  give  no  uncer- 
tain sound  as  to  the  general  doctrines  of  grace.  He 
must  give  no  man  any  excuse  for  confounding  Wes- 
leyanism  with  semi-Pelagianism.  He  must  always 
assume  that  all  souls  belong  to  God.  He  must  see  in 
every  man  the  purchase  of  the  Redeemer's  agony. 
He  must  set  forth  the  infinite  fullness  of  provision 
made  for  the  spiritual  wants  of  men.  He  must  make 
every  man  feel  that  if  he  dies  eternally,  it  will  be  as 
a  spiritual  suicide;  that  if  he  plunges  into  perdition, 
it  will  be  because  he  would  not  plunge  into  "  the 
fountain  filled  witli  blood." 

20 


298  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

III.  Acquaintance  and  Sympathy  with  the 
Polity  and  Usages  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church. 

This  polity  is  at  once  simple  and  complicated — 
simple  in  principle,  but  complicated  in  outward  ex- 
pression and  adjustment.  The  one  principle  of  which 
it  is  the  outgrowth  is  that  0/  bringing  all  agencies  of 
the  church  to  bear  upon  all  classes  in  the  church,  and 
to  secure  for  all  efficient  pastoral  care  and  oversight. 
The  development  of  this  polity  has  proceeded  in  the 
light  of  Scriptural  and  ecclesiastical  precedent  and 
practical  expediency.  The  result  is  a  polity  which, 
for  variety  and  completeness  of  detail,  has  no  equal 
among  Protestant  churches.  But  all  this  machinery 
is  intended  for  a  living,  militant  church,  and  so  is  en- 
tirely unsuited  for  one  non-aggressive  and  dead.  The 
adjustments  of  the  Methodist  Church  will  be  a  yoke 
of  bondage  to  every  unspiritual  member;  and  espe- 
cially so  to  a  pastor  in  whose  heart  the  flame  of  spir- 
itual and  aggressive  piety  does  not  burn  brightly. 
The  armor  and  discipline  suited  to  war  will  only  be 
burdensome  to  an  ease-loving,  non-resisting,  compro- 
mising, contented  advocate  of  peace. 

And  so  the  Methodist  minister  should  understand 
and  appreciate  the  economy  of  his  own  church — not 
merely  its  external,  formal,  and  mechanical  details, 
but  its  genius  and  spirit,  its  reason  and  principle. 
And  he  should  be  loyal  to  it — not,  by  any  means, 
that  it  is  perfect,  and  so  changeless;  nor  even  that  it 
is  the  best  possible,  but  as  having   much   experience 


METHODIST  PASTOR'S  QUALIFICATIONS.  299 

and  success  in  its  favor,  and  so  not  to  be  hastily  and 
crudely  tinkered. 

IV.  Faith  in  the  Mission  of  Methodism. 

^'  It  is  impossible  to  be  a  hero  in  anything  unless 
one  is  first  a  hero  in  faith."     "  Fields   are   won  only 
by   those   who    believe   in   the  winning."     To  be  an 
efficient  agent  of  Methodism,  one   must  have  faith  in 
the   mission   of   Methodism.     We  '  can    only   do   our 
utmost  to   give  Methodism   to   the    world   under  the 
profound   conviction   that  the   world  needs  it.     This 
conviction   should   be   deeper  than   any   that   can   be 
begotten  by  a  knowledge  of  the  marvelous  successes 
of  the  past.     It  should  spring  from  a  recognition  of 
the   thorough   fitness   of  this  type  of  Christianity  to 
meet  a  great  and  pressing   demand.     The   results  al- 
ready garnered  may  well  be  accepted  as  a  confirma- 
tory comment  on  our  conclusions  touching  this  mat- 
ter; but  I  would  look  deeper  than  these   results  for 
the  firm  basis  of  our  faith.     Does  humanity  need  to 
be  elevated?     What  will  do  this  so  certainly  as  that 
bringing  of  each  individual  soul  into  a  sense  of  free- 
dom,   and    so    accountability    before   God,    which    is 
characteristic    of    all    Methodist    preaching?      What 
will  give  a  man  to  feel  the  dignity  and  inestimable 
worth  of  his  own  nature  so  fully  as  to  show  him  the 
place  he  occupies  in  the  impartial  love  of  the  infinite 
Father  and  the  impartial  grace  of  the  divine  Savior? 
What   do   guilty   men   so   need   to   see   as   the  cross? 
What  does  wretched  and  despairing  man  so  need  to 
know   as  that   Jesus   Christ,   by    the    grace    of  God, 
tasted  death   for  every  man?     And  what   means  so 


300  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

eifectual  In  publishing  these  great  central,  vital  truths 
of  religion  as  those  which  Methodism  employs? 

V.  The  Methodist  Pastor  needs  Some  Spe- 
cial Practical  Adaptations. 

1.   To  the  3Iasses. 

It  has  thus  far  been  the  peculiar  glory  of  Meth- 
odism that  it  is  a  religion  of  the  people.  Hence  the 
man  who  is  fitted  for  her  ministry  must  be  capable 
of  adjusting  himself  not  to  the  learned  merely,  the 
rich,  the  aristocratic,  the  luxurious  and  ease-loving, 
but  to  the  common  people — the  hard-working,  prac- 
tical masses,  who  make  up  the  bone  and  sinew  of 
society.  He  must  not  be  dainty  and  fastidious  in  his 
tastes.  He  must  be  capable  of  wielding  an  influence 
over  men  incapable  of  judging  of  the  quality  of  his 
culture  and  indifferent  to  the  beauty  of  his  diction — 
men  who  may  judge  very  correctly  as  to  the  soul  and 
essence  of  his  teaching,  but  have  no  appreciation  of 
hair-splitting  distinctions  and  fine-spun  theories.  In 
short,  he  should  aim  at  popular  power.  For,  while 
it  is  the  cry  of  monarchists  across  the  water,  ^^God 
save  the  king  P^  and  of  timid  and  time-serving  ecde- 
siastics,  ''God  save  the  church /'' — of  demagogues  and 
politicians,  "God  save  the  party !^^  and  of  patriots, 
"God  save  our  country P'  let  it  be  the  cry  of  3Ieth- 
odists  everywhere,  "  God  save  the  people  /"  for  if 
they  are  saved,  everything  else  worth  saving  will  be 
saved  also. 

There  is  a  kind  of  clerical  exclusiveness  which 
many  indulge  or  affect,  and  which  stands  in  direct 
opposition    to    this    practical    adaptation    of   which    I 


METHODIST  PASTOR'S  QUALIFICATIONS.  301 

speak.  There  are  some  clergymen  of  what  George 
MacDonald  calls  "the  pure,  honest,  and  narrow  type/' 
who  seem,  in  every  point  and  line  of  their  counte- 
nances, marked  as  priests,  and  apart  from  their 
fellow-men.  By  their  dress,  the  tones  of  their  voice, 
and  their  general  demeanor,  they  seem  to  say:  "Stand 
by  yourself!  Come  not  near  me,  for  I  am  holier 
than  thou.''  They  are,  they  would  seem  to  say,  to 
common  men  as  the  Sabbath  to  common  days,  or  the 
church  to  common  houses;  but,  more  correctly,  they 
are  like  funerals  to  common  events,  or  corpses  to 
living  men.  In  the  unsullied  whiteness  and  un- 
wrinkled  blackness  of  their  costumes,  in  their  cold 
stateliness  of  aspect  and  their  hollow  and  priestly 
tones,  they  remind  us  of  death  rather  than  life — of 
the  dark  and  solemn  under-world  rather  than  the 
bright  and  joyous  heaven  to  which  it  is  their  busi- 
ness to  invite  men.  They  move  among  men  with  a 
mingled  pomposity  and  solemnity,  "as  if  the  care  of 
the  whole  world  lay  on  their  shoulders — as  if  an 
awful  destruction  were  the  most  likely  thing  to  hap- 
pen to  every  one,  while  to  them  is  committed  the 
toilsome  chance  of  saving  some."  As  they  enter  the 
places  where  men  congregate — market,  shop,  railway 
depot,  public  hall — the  language  of  their  manner  is, 
^^Proculj  procul,  0  profanir^  When  they  speak  to 
common  men,  they  either  patronize  them  or  tol- 
erate them,  or  endure;  and,  manifestly,  it  is  w^ith  a 
very  generous  and  praiseworthy  patience.  They  seem 
to  imagine  that  their  ministerial  duties  are  to  be  done 
in  a  mechanical  way;  that  men  are  to  be  regenerated 
by  their   magical  priestly    touch,   or  their   lofty  and 


302  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

impressive  ceremonials;  and  so  their  whole  life  seems 
to  flow  out  through  these  channels. 

This  type  of  men,  though  found  i*n  every  denom- 
ination, have  certainly  no  legitimate  place  in  the 
Methodist  ministry.  They  are  made  up  in  about 
equal  parts  of  Puritanism  and  ecclesiasticism,  and  are 
thoroughly  out  of  harmony  with  the  genius  and  spirit 
of  the  Methodist  denomination.  The  Methodist  min- 
ister must  be  every  inch  a  man.  He  must  be  ready 
to  give  to  other  men  his  hand  and  his  heart.  He 
should  be  most  broadly,  profoundly,  and  intensely 
human.  Not  by  pompous  ceremonial  and  cold  and 
formal  utterances  will  he  seek  to  save  men,  but  by 
vital  influences. 

2.   To  the  Itinei^ancy. 

As  not  every  good  Christian  would  be  suited  to, 
or  by,  the  Methodist  Church,  so  not  every  good  min- 
ister would  be  suited  to  our  peculiar  system  of  itin- 
erancy. It  imposes  marked  and  peculiar  conditions 
of  ministerial  service.  It  requires  a  man  to  maintain 
a  monkish  abstinence  from  worldly  entanglements, 
and  yet  allows  him  to  be  burdened  with  domestic 
cares.  He  may  have  a  family,  but  they  can  have  no 
home  except  that  blessed  home  whose  walls  are  built 
of  the  affections  of  loving  hearts.  He  must  form 
and  cherish  warm  attachments  to  people  from  whom 
he  is  soon  to  be  separated.  His  affections  must  take 
quick  root,  and  not  unfrequently  deep  root,  in  a  soil 
from  which  they  must  erelong  be  torn  away.  He 
must  surrender  into  the  hands  of  others  some  of  the 
most  interesting  and  important  questions  of  life.  It 
must  be   decided  for  him,  and  not  by  him,  ichere  he 


METHODIST  PASTOR'S  QUALIFICATIONS  308 

will  labor.  It  must  be  determined  jor  him,  and  not 
by  him,  what  shall  be  his  comjpensation  for  labor  and 
what  the  conditions  of  his  labor.  And  sometimes  it 
may  seem  to  him  that  these  questions  are  wrongly 
and  even  unworthily  decided;  that  men,  under  the 
influence  of  low  and  selfish  motives,  have  improperly 
interfered  with  decisions  on  which  his  usefulness  and 
the  welfare  and  comfort  of  his  family  ^depend. 

Thus  unqualifiedly   to    commit  our  dearest  inter- 
ests, and,  what  is  more,  the  interests  of  those  dearest 
to  us  on  earth,  into  the  keeping  of  others,  demands 
the  fullest  faith  in  God  and  the  fullest  faith  in  men. 
A  timid,  suspicious,  morbidly  sensitive  temper  would 
not  be  consistent  with  the  conditions  of  this  service. 
There   are   those   whose   affections   are  like   hooks  of 
steel,  and  yet  they  are  so  sensitive  that  the   slightest 
breath  will  throw  them  into  painful  agitation.     Such 
men,  especially  if  at  all  disposed  to  bitterness  or  jeal- 
ousy, would   endure   the    friction    of   our    itinerancy 
badly.     The   local  attachments   of  some   men   are  so 
strong  as,  in  some  measure,  to  disqualify  them.     Lack 
of  either  physical,  mental,  or  moral  stamina  may  unfit 
a  man  for  this  life  of  hardship  and  heroism.     Indeed, 
the  Methodist  itinerancy  is  related  to  what  are  called 
settled  pastorates,  much  as  the  life  of  the  soldier  is 
related  to  that  of  a  civilian,  and  the  special  qualities 
and  conditions  demanded  are  clearly  and  fairly  indi- 
cated by  this  comparison. 

3.   To  the  3Iethodist  Pulpit. 
•   The    Methodist    pulpit,    however    numerous    and 
marked  may  be  the  individual  exceptions,  is  a  place 
where  the  gospel  is  preached  earnestly,  plainly,  point- 


304  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

edly,  and  effectively.  It  is  not  a  place  for  essays,  the- 
ological, moral,  literary,  or  any  other  kind.  It  is  not 
a  place  for  lectures  or  orations,  either  religious  or  po- 
litical. It  is  not  a  place  for  abstrusities,  profundities, 
or  platitudes.  It  is  not  a  place  for  dry  and  harsh 
polemics.  It  is  not  a  theater  for  oratorical  display — 
foV  intellectual  gymnastics  or  mere  word-painting. 
The  preaching  of  the  Methodist  pulpit  should  not 
bristle  with  hard,  naked,  angry  propositions.  It 
must  not  be  narrow,  dry,  hard,  nor  cold;  nothing 
suited  to  the  select  few  merely,  but  to  all.  It  must 
not  address  the  intellectual  nature  mainly,  but  the 
spiritual  nature.  Its  profiting  must  be  seen,  not  in 
the  world  that  now  is,  but  in  that  which  is  to  come. 

If  it  be  said  that  all  these  characteristics  pertain 
to  the  Christian  pulpit  as  such,  in  whatever  denomi- 
nation, I  reply  that  they  pertain,  in  an  eminent  degree, 
to  the  characteristic  Methodist  pulpit.  And  there  are 
many  who  would  be  acceptable  in  other  pulpits  who 
would  not  be  acceptable  in  ours,  as  there  are  also 
many  who  do  effective  work  among  us,  but  would 
not  be  so  successful  in  any  other  denomination. 

To  be  best  suited  to  our  pulpit,  a  man  must  be 
positive  in  his  convictions,  fervid  in  his  feelings,  plain 
and  downright  in  speech,  and  simple  in  manner;  of 
broad  sympathies,  and  capable  of  wielding  a  fair 
measure  of  j)()pular  influence.  Extemporaneousness 
of  address  is  naturally  associated  with  these  qualities, 
and  they  express  themselves  most  perfectly  in  this 
way,  and  yet  I  can  not  write  it  down  as  in  the  highest 
and  most  absolute  sense  essential. 

Such  are  some  of  the  special  qualifications  needed 


METHODIST  PASTOR'S  QUALIFICATIONS.  305 

for  the  pastoral  work  in  the  Methodist  Church.  Bat 
I  will  not  refrain  from  adding  that  these  must  be  al- 
lowed, in  no  manner,  to  set  aside,  or  supersede  or 
atone  for  the  absence  of,  the  still  broader  and  more 
fundamental  qualifications  which  are  needed  in  a 
Christian  paster.  It  will  be  a  sad  day  for  us  and  for 
religion  when  our  ministry  becomes  more  Methodistic 
than  Christian,  more  Wesleyan  than  Protestant,  more 
effective  for  denominational  propagandism  than  for 
Christian  evangelization.  Loyalty  to  the  denomina- 
tion should  be  simply  the  outflowing  of  that  still 
deeper  and  more  all-comprehending  loyalty  to  Christ, 
to  conscience,  and  to  truth.  Adhering  to  this  prin- 
ciple, we  shall,  in  our  measure  and  in  our  special 
department  of  influence,  help  the  Church  to  realize 
that  beautiful  description  of  the  poet  Montgomery : 

"  Distinct  as  the  billows,  but  one  as  the  sea.^' 


306  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 


II. 

RITUALISM  IN  THE  METHODIST  EPIS= 
COPAL  CHURCH. 

I  USE  this  term^  not  in  its  narrow  and  technical 
sense^  but  in  the  broad  and  comprehensive  sense 
of  order  in  religious  service;  and,  hence,  as  opposed 
to  all  dispositions  and  tendencies  to  subject  such 
service  to  the  whims  or  caprices,  the  carelessness  or 
the  ignorance,  of  him  who  may  happen  to  have  it  in 
charge.  The  apostle  does  indeed  direct  us  to  "  turn 
away  '^  from  such  as  have  the  "  form  of  godliness,  but 
deny  the  power  thereof ;''  but  it  would  be  a  strange 
and  unwarrantable  inference  from  this,  that  we  have 
any  right  to  be  indifferent  to  decent  and  appropriate 
forms  in  religion.  On  the  other  hand,  this  passage 
itself  implies  that  the  form  of  godliness  is  a  matter 
of  distinct  and  important  notice — indeed,  that  it  is  so 
good  that  there  may  be  danger  of  substituting  it  for 
the  substance.  The  question  in  this  matter  is  not  be- 
tween forms  and  no  forms,  for  nothing  real  and  actual 
can  be  without  some  type  or  mode  of  development; 
it  is  rather  between  a  good  form  and  a  bad  or  indif- 
ferent one.  A  tree  can  not  grow  without  assuming 
some  shape;  a  river  can  not  flow  without  selecting 
some  course ;  so  religious  service  can  not  proceed 
without  taking  some  definite  order,  which,  by  long 
custom,  will  come  to  be  an  established  form. 


RITUALISM.  307 

And  this  is  a  feeling  that  holds  with  all  classes 
alike.  The  Non-conformists  of  Great  Britain  came 
at  last  to  insist  on  their  Non-conformist  usages  with 
almost  the  same  rigidity  and  intolerance  that  had 
been  exhibited  by  the  Conformists  themselves.  The 
old  Covenanters  of  Scotland  were  even  more  inflex- 
ible in  their  demands  that  no  religious  service  should 
be  said  at  the  open  graves  of  the  departed,  than  are 
the  members  of  the  Church  of  England  in  theirs,  that 
in  every  instance  must  the  rites  of  the  church  be  per- 
formed over  the  baptized  dead.  There  is  a  denomi- 
nation of  Christians  in  this  country  who  would  regard 
it  a  sacrilege,  never  to  be  forgotten  or  forgiven,  if  the 
minister  should  introduce  into  divine  service  a  single 
one  of  the  sacred  Psalms  in  Watts^s  metrical  version. 
There  are  many  single  churches  in  this  country,  and 
even  whole  denominations  of  churches,  who  w^ould 
be  quite  as  much  shocked  and  surprised,  should  tlie 
minister,  to  their  knowledge,  make  use  of  a  single 
previously  composed  prayer,  as  would  the  High- 
churchman  should  the  priest  extemporize  a  portion 
of  the  liturgy.  Even  minor  peculiarities  among  those 
who  dissent  from  the  doctrine  that  the  church  must 
fix  the  forms  of  worship,  and  dictate  the  language  of 
prayer  and  praise,  confession  and  profession,  come  to 
be  invested  with  the  same  sacred n ess  and  are  clung 
to  with  the  same  tenacity,  as  ritualistic  forms  them- 
selves. A  Presbyterian  minister  who  should  go  on 
his  knees  in  public  prayer,  in  the  presence  of  his  con- 
gregation, w^ould  do  so  at  the  imminent  risk  of  posi- 
tion, reputation,  and  usefulness.  Were  a  Methodist 
minister  to  practice  uttering  a  brief  invocation,  as  he 


308  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

stands  up  to  read  the  opening  hymn  in  the  Sabbath 
morning  service,  he  would  be  almost  sure  to  lose 
caste  by  it  to  some  extent,  and  to  incur  the  charge, 
which  would  sooner  or  later  come  to  him,  of"  being 
''  half-Presbyterianized.'^  So  jealously  do  the  people 
regard  even  those  peculiarities  which,  to  an  outside 
observer.  Would  seem  to  have  the  smallest  possible 
value  and  significance.  Hence,  then,  I  repeat  it — the 
question  is  not  whether  there  shall  be  set  and  estab- 
lished forms  in  religious  service,  but  it  is  simply 
whether  these  forms  shall  be  good  or  bad,  appro- 
priate or  inappropriate ;  and,  also,  to  how  great  an 
extent  these  can  be  adjusted  beforehand.  Hence, 
then,  there  is  much  practical  importance  investing 
this  question  of  order  in  religious  service,  and  it  most 
certainly  demands  the  careful  attention  of  every  one 
called  to  direct  the  worship  of  the  sanctuary. 

I.  First,  then,  let  us  briefly  consider  this  subject 
as  connected  with  the  ordinary  services  of  public 
worship  on  the  Lord's-day.  The  Disciplinary  direc- 
tions are:  ''Let  the  morning  service  consist  of  sing- 
ing, prayer,  the  reading  of  a  chapter  out  of  the  Old 
Testament  and  another  out  of  the  New,  and  preach- 
ing. Let  the  afternoon  service  consist  of  singing, 
prayer,  the  reading  of  one  or  two  chapters  out  of  the 
Bible,  and  preaching.  Let  the  evening  service  con- 
sist of  singing,  prayer,  and  preaching.^'  ..."  Let 
the  Lord's  Prayer  also  be  used  on  all  occasions  of 
public  worship  in  concluding  the  first  prayer,  and 
the  Apostolic  Benediction  in  dismissing  the  con- 
gregation." In  addition,  every  minister  is  charged 
to    choose    appropriate    hymns,    and    not    to    "  sing 


RITUALISM.  309 

too  much  at  once;  seldom  more  than  four  or  five 
verses." 

Such  is,  substantially,  the  sum  of  the  Disciplinary 
directions  on  this  subject.  It  will  at  once  be  seen 
that  in  reference  to  some  points  usually  deemed  im- 
portant, and  even  some  that  most  would  hold  essen- 
tial, there  are  no  directions  given.  For  instance,  we 
are  not  told  what  services  should  follow  the  sermon — 
whether  prayer,  singing,  and  benediction;  or,  singing, 
prayer,  and  benediction  ;  or,  prayer  and  benediction ; 
or,  singing  and  benediction  ;  or,  the  benediction  alone. 
We  are  not  t<jld  what  posture  the  minister  shall  as- 
sume— whether  he  shall  stand  in  prayer  and  benedic- 
tion, or  kneel  in  prayer  and  benediction,  or  kneel  in 
prayer  and  stand  in  the  benediction.  There  are  one 
or  two  general  directions  given  in  reference  to  public 
religious  service,  that  are  not  without  value,  which 
are  well  worthy  of  careful  attention  by  every  minis- 
ter, old  and  young.  To  some  of  these  I  may  refer 
farther  along,  "in  the  light  of  the  Discipline  and  ex- 
perience we  are  able,  then,  to  read  certain  rules  which 
should  govern  a  preacher  in  this  matter. 

1.  Obey  the  specific  directions  of  Discipline,  so  far 
as  they  are  at  all  applicable  to  your  circumstances.  I 
append  this  modifying  clause  because  there  are,  mani- 
festly, some  clauses  in  these  articles  on  public  worship 
not  adapted  to  every  case.  In  such  cases  it  is  Method- 
istic  to  retain  the  spirit  of  the  rule,  even  if  compelled 
to  depart  from  the  letter.  A  general  model  is  held 
up  to  view,  which  it  is  our  business  to  imitate  so  far 
as  practicable.  Many  of  us,  for  instance,  have  no 
afternoon   service,  but  do   have   an   evening   service. 


310  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS 

Which  shall  govern  us — the  directions  for  afternoon 
or  evening?  Afternoon,  I  should  say,  as  being  the 
second  and  important  service  of  the  day.  If  the 
services  are  at  different  places,  I  would  not  omit  the 
reading  of  the  Scripture  at  any  service. 

2.  Be  able  to  bear  these  parts  assigned  us  by  the 
Discipline  well.  The  hymns  should  not  only  be  care- 
fully selected,  but  the  Scripture  also,  and  both  should 
be  well  read.  It  was  said  that  multitudes  used  to  at- 
tend upon  the  ministry  of  the  eloquent  Dr.  Mason, 
of  New  York,  just  to  enjoy  his  reading.  Good  read- 
ing is  a  charm  in  religious  service  which  every  one 
feels,  and  no  preacher  has  a  right  to  be  indiiferent  to 
it.  His  reading  may  not  be  artistic — he  may  not 
have  all  the  vocal  graces  of  the  actor  or  professional 
elocutionist — but  a  minister  of  the  gospel  has  no  ex- 
cuse for  not  exhibiting  in  his  reading  the  excellent 
qualities  so  well  set  forth  in  the  eighth  verse  of  the 
eighth  chapter  of  Nehemiah :  "  So  they  read  in  the 
book  in  the  law  of  God  distinctly,  and  gave  the  sense, 
and  caused  them  to  understand  the  reading."  The 
minister  should  be  able  to  recite  the  Lord^s  Prayer 
according  to  the  form  in  the  Methodist  Ritual.  This 
is  a  rare  accomplishment.  In  my  observation,  cover- 
ing several  years  since  my  attention  has  become  fixed 
on  the  point,  I  have  heard  less  than  a  score  of  indi- 
viduals recite  the  Lord^s  Prayer  with  perfect  accuracy. 
Not  long  since  I  raised  the  question  in  a  select  com- 
pany of  ten  ministers,  several  of  them  eminent,  and 
not  one  of  them  could  recite  the  Lord's  Prayer  ac- 
cording to  the  Methodist  Ritual.  I  know  of  no  ex- 
cuse for  such  carelessness  in  reference  to  a  form  that 


RITUALISM.  311 

most  of  lis  use  at  least  three  hundred  and  sixty-five 
times  in  a  year. 

3.  The  Discipline  suggests  attention  to  what  may  be 
denominated  the  proprieties  of  religious  service :  "  Let 
your  whole  deportment  be  serious,  weighty,  solemn.'^ 
The  personal  character,  and  manner,  and  spirit  of  the 
minister,  have  so  much  to  do  with  the  interest  and 
profit  of  the  sanctuary  service,  as  to  be  worthy  of  the 
most  careful  attention.  Among  the  most  common 
faults  here,  some  of  which  are  expressly  mentioned  in 
the  Discipline,  are : 

(a)  Egotism.  A  man's  manner  may  announce  his 
important  self  quite  as  distinctly  as  his  words.  And 
nothing  can  be  more  oiFensive.  The  man  who,  like 
^sop's  fly  seated  on  the  end  of  the  axle,  is  contin- 
ually exclaiming,  "See  what  a  dust  /raise;''  or  like 
the  lily,  who  imagined  that  by  retiring  into  its  bulb 
it  would  take  all  the  summer  with  it, — is  capable  of 
rendering  religious  service,  which  is  otherwise  en- 
tirely correct  in  form  and  respectable  in  talent,  abso- 
lutely repulsive. 

(6)  Another  serious  fault  is  Levity.  I  do  not  al- 
lude so  much  to  that  perverted  taste  that  leads  a 
minister  to  indulge  in  quaintness,  eccentricity,  puns, 
or  even  buifoonery  in  the  sacred  desk — for  there  are 
few,  comparatively,  capable  of  offending  in  this  way — 
but  to  all  disposition  to  treat  religious  service  as  a 
matter  of  little  importance.  This  will  show  itself  by 
haste,  irreverence,  flippancy,  trifling  thoughts  and 
words,  and  especially  by  the  use  of  sermons  which 
are  really  impromptu,  or  are  made  to  appear  so.  The 
preacher  will  sometimes  find  himself  led  to  make  use 


312  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

of  a  subject  or  train  of  remark  hastily  caught  up,  and 
sometimes  very  much  to  his  own  satisfaction  and  the 
profit  of  his  audience,  but  this  should  be  the  excep- 
tion and  never  the  rule.  No  minister,  laboring  in  the 
ordinary  routine  of  his  profession,  has  a  right  to  bring 
unbeaten  oil  into  the  sanctuary;  and  to  do  so  habit- 
ually, indicates  unpardonable  indolence  and  levity  of 
character. 

(c)  Affectation.  "  In  man  or  woman,  but  most  of 
all  in  man  that  ministers  and  serves  the  altar,  in  my 
very  soul  I  loathe  all  affectation."  It  is  a  greater  evil, 
because  more  offensive,  than  rudeness  or  awkwardness. 

So  much  has  been  written  in  reference  to  the  gen- 
eral course  of  service  in  the  Lord's  house,  assuming 
that  the  disciplinary  directions  are  authoritative  and 
infallible.  If  I  may,  however,  travel  so  far  outside 
of  my  record  as  to  inquire  whether  the  order  of  serv- 
ice, laid  down  in  the  Discipline,  is  capable  of  im- 
provement, I  should  venture  to  suggest  that  my  own 
taste  and  judgment  would  be  much  better  •satisfied 
were  our  service,  like  that  of  most  other  churches  that 
have  no  liturgy,  to  commence  with  an  invocation,  and 
our  sermons  to  close  by  prayer.  I  should  be  glad  to 
commend  this  suggestion  to  him  who  is  to  represent 
us  in  the  next  General  Conference. 

II.  In  the  second  department  of  my  essay — which 
I  here  promise  shall  not  be  very  extended — I  propose 
some  random  suggestions  bearing  on  our  ritual  proper. 
I  doubt  not,  as  it  now  stands,  it  is  perfectly  intelli- 
gible and  easy  to  be  conducted,  and  yet  the  cases  in 
which  its  forms  are  used  with  perfect  propriety  and 
correctness  are  not  numerous. 


RITUALISM.  313 

1.  There  is  a  single  point  in  the  baptismal  service, 
in  reference  to  which  I  have  noticed  some  confusion 
of  usage :  The  people  are  directed  to  stand  while  the 
Scripture  is  read.      ^Vhen  shall  they  sit  dovmf 

2.  Persons  who  receive  baptism  as  adults  answer 
to  certain  questions  in  the  presence  of  the  congrega- 
tion, and  this  is  called  their  baptismal  voir.  Is  there 
anything  corresponding  to  this  for  those  who  were  bap- 
tized in  infancy?  My  own  practice  has  been,  and  shall 
be  until  this  is  better  provided  for  among  us,  to  call 
forward  such,  with  those  about  to  be  baptized,  and  have 
them  respond  to  the  questions  with  them.  The  only 
difference  I  make  between  them  is,  I  do  not  ask  them 
if  they  will  be  "baptized  in  this  faith,''  and  do  not 
apply  water  to  them. 

3.  Are  candidates  for  adult  baptism  expected  to 
answer  the  questions  at  all  ?  I  have  seen  these  ques- 
tions proposed  to  persons  that  stood  as  immovable  as 
statues;  the  answers  were  read  to  them,  while  they 
gave  not  the  smallest  token  of  assent  in  any  form. 
I  would  in  every  instance  have  it  understood  before- 
hand, if  practicable,  and  require  each  candidate  to 
answer  with  his  voice,  and  that  not  in  unison,  but 
singly  and  successively. 

4.  Are  our  ceremonies  in  receiving  persons  into 
the  church  always  as  solemn  and  impressive  as  they 
should  to  be?  Receiving  persons  to  relations  which 
may  be  changeless  forever,  is  a  very  different  matter 
from  admitting  them  into  a  temperance  society  or 
Masonic  lodge.  And  yet  it  is  frequently  one  of  the 
loosest  and  most  careless  services  of  the  church. 

5.  The  form  for  the  Holy  Communion  is  probably 

21 


314  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

better  observed  than  any  other  among  us,  because  it 
is,  in  most  cases,  in  the  hands  of  experienced  men  ; 
and  yet  there  are  not  wanting  evils  even  here. 

(a)  In  most  of  our  strong  and  well-established 
societies  it  is  not  administered  with  sufficient  fre- 
quency. There  is  no  reason  why  Baptists,  Congrega- 
tionalists,  and  Presbyterians  should  commemorate 
Christ's  death  monthly,  and  Methodists  only  once  a 
quarter.  I  think  our  churches  would  be  profited  by 
a  more  frequent  observance  of  this  ordinance. 

(6)  It  is  frequently  administered  in  such  haste  as 
to  destroy,  in  a  great  measure,  the  interest  of  the  oc- 
casion. 

(c)  The  beauty  of  the  service  is  frequently  greatly 
marred  by  random  talking  by  those  who  are  distrib- 
uting the  elements.  Better  to  confine  yourself  strictly 
to  the  form  in  the  Discipline,  than  to  say  a  careless 
or  inappropriate  word. 

(c?)  While  much  of  the  service  may  undoubtedly 
be  omitted,  it  seems  to  me  that  not  all  the  closing 
services  should  ever  be  omitted. 

6.  The  forms  for  Matrimony  and  the  Burial  of  the 
Dead,  as  a  matter  of  practice,  I  find  myself  obliged 
greatly  to  abridge,  and  in  some  instances  to  modify. 
They  are  adapted  to  more  formal  occasions  than  or- 
dinarily present  themselves.  I  find  my  material  in 
them,  and  seek  to  conform  to  their  spirit;  but  can  not 
always,  consistently  with  my  own  views  of  propriety, 
conform  strictly  to  their  letter. 


OUTLOOK  OF  METHODISM.  315 


III. 

OUTLOOK  OF  METHODISM. 

I  DO  not  essay  to  predict  what  will  be,  but  rather 
to  point  out  what  may  be  and  ought  to  be.  What 
will  be  depends,  in  great  measure,  on  the  sagacity, 
fidelity,  and  obedient  service  of  men ;  what  ought  to 
be  is  indicated  by  the  providence  of  God.  What  has 
been  and  is,  we  know,  though  imperfectly;  the  one 
thing  needful  is,  that  we  may  have  eyes  to  read  its 
deep  lessons  aright. 

Methodism  has  thus  far  had  a  wonderful  history — 
a  history  replete  with  the  goodness  of  God  and  the 
heroism  of  men.  Every  impartial  church  historian 
will  concede  this,  even  though  he  may  not  fully  sym- 
pathize with  the  movement.  It  is  no  arrogant  claim 
to  make,  that  Methodism  has  been  selected  by  Provi- 
dence to  do  a  work  in  developing  Protestant  Chris- 
tianity which  could  have  been  done  by  no  other  class 
of  methods  or  agencies ;  as  Isaac  Taylor  says :  "  The 
present  religious  epoch  must,  in  some  important 
sense,  take  its  date  from  the  field-preaching  of  the 
Wesleys." 

Notably  is  this  true  with  regard  to  this  country. 
It  has  achieved  here  a  work  which  would  have  been 
impossible  under  any  other  economy  or  any  other 
class  of  men  than  such  as  Methodist  preachers  have 
been.     The  breadth  of  their  theological  .views,  their 


316  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

freedom  from  scholastic  methods  which  separate  from 
the  people,  their  hearty  sympathy  with  the  masses, 
their  fertility  in  expedients,  their  direct  and  down- 
right methods,  and  especially  their  singleness  of  aim 
in  seeking  and  saving  the  lost,  gave  them  a  special 
adaptation  for  the  work  which  they  were  called  to  do 
in  this  land.  To  no  other  class  of  men,  and  in  par- 
ticular to  no  other  class  of  ministers,  is  this  nation  so 
much  indebted.  Had  it  not  been  for  such  men  and 
such  methods,  it  is  clearly  to  be  seen  that  American 
history  must  have  been  very  diiferent  from  what  it 
has  been.  All  honor,  then,  to  our  fathers — those  now 
lingering  among  us,  as  well  as  those  who  have  passed 
on  to  their  reward.  The  best  we  need  to  ask  for  our- 
selves is,  that  we  may  be  worthy  to  follow  in  this 
high  succession. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  especially  in 
this  Middle  West  and  North-west,  is  now  in  a  trans- 
ition state.  This  is  true,  not  only  in  that  sense  which 
applies  to  every  living  organism  at  all  times — for  it 
is  in  the  nature  of  life  to  manifest  itself  by  working 
changes — but  in  that  special  sense  which  applies  only 
to  critical  periods  in  the  history  of  living  organisms. 
Hitherto,  in  this  region,  the  evangelistic  aspect  of  our 
work  has  been  most  prominent.  The  typical  Meth- 
odist minister  has  been  a  ^^  circuit  rider,''  going  from 
place  to  place,  literally,  to  carry  the  good  news  of 
salvation.  The  rude,  temporary  churches,  which 
sprung  up  everywhere  in  his  path,  in  due  time  gave 
place  to  other  churches;  also,  for  the  most  part  tem- 
porary, but  more  attractive  and  commodious,  and  in- 
dicating a  more  advanced  stage  of  church  life.     But 


I 

OUTLOOK  OF  METHODISM.  317 

recently,  and  particularly  within  the  past  dozen  years, 
the  third  stage— that  of  maturity— has,  in  many  places, 
been    reached.      The    permanent   church    edifice    has 
been  built,  often  of  brick  or  stone,  and  so  complete 
in  its  appointments  as  to  be  adequate  to  the  wants  of 
a   fully  developed   and    well-organized   church.     All 
over  the  territory  of  this  North-west   stand  beautiful 
churches,  which  represent  an  untold  amount  of  toil, 
prayer,   solicitude,    sacrifice,   and   in    many  instances 
positive  suffering,  on  the  part  of  the  people.     I  know 
strong  business  men  who  have  builded  their  lives  into 
the  church,  as  they  have  not  done  into  their  private 
business;  who  have  expended  on  the  house  of  God  an 
amount  of  energy  and   painstaking  which  they  have 
not  bestowed  on  their  private  affairs.     Now,  the  build- 
ing of  this  local  church  is  the  terminus  ad  quern  as  to 
material  development;  if  there  be  further  progress,  it 
must  be  in  another  and  a  still  more  important  direc- 
tion.    What  is  now  needed  is  not  so  much  develop- 
ment as   strength ;   not  so  much  the  starting  of  new 
enterprises    as   the   turning   of   old   facilities   to   the 
richest    spiritual    account.    .The    growth    which    the 
church  now  needs  is  not  only  extensive,  but  intensive; 
not  merely  expansion,  but  depth  and  solidity. 

Definitely,  then,  what  are  the  key-notes  of  our 
future  progress? 

1.  First  of  all,  the  time  is  now  come  for  the  best 
development  of  our  local  church  life.  Up  to  this 
time  our  poor  societies— and  all  our  societies  are  poor; 
the  exceptions  are  so  rare  that  we  hardly  need  to  take 
them  into  account  at  all— have  been  straining  every 
nerve  to  solve  that  problem  which  Carlyle  calls  "the 


318  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

first  and  simplest  of  all  philosophy,  that  of  keeping 
soul  and  body  together."  Like  the  rapidly  growing 
boy,  all  their  vitality  has  gone  into  their  body,  and 
they  have  had  nothing  left  for  the  wants  of  their 
higher  nature.  But  now  the  time  has  come  for  a 
higher  life  than  that  of  the  physical  and  material. 
The  energy,  which  for  so  long  has  been  expended  in 
simply  building  up  material  organs  of  life,  may  now 
be  available  for  higher  uses.  The  outward  growth 
must  find  its  complement  in  inner  growth.  Hence, 
those  organs  of  church  life,  such  as  class-meetings 
and  other  spiritual  means  and  instrumentalities,  may 
be  turned  to  the  richest  account.  Our  class-meetings 
are  a  strange  anomaly.  They  are  our  best  and  poorest 
meetings.  Some  of  our  members  would  have  them 
distinguished  from  every  other  class  of  religious 
duties,  and  made  tests  and  standards  of  Christian 
character.  This  must  be  construed  as  indicating  a 
possibility  in  this  meeting  which  is  not  ordinarily  re- 
alized. The  time  has  now  come  when  all  that  is  best 
in  this  meeting  should  again  come  to  the  front.  We 
want  in  this  meeting  less  of  cant,  and  more  of  culture ; 
less  of  the. mechanical,  and  more  of  the  spiritual;  less 
of  old  and  stereotyped  repetitions,  and  more  of  fresh 
and  vital  truth.  The  minister  finds  that  his  social 
meetings  draw  on  him  even  more  severely,  in  some 
directions,  than  his  public  work.  It  is  sometimes 
easier  to  preach  a  sermon,  as  sermons  go,  than  to  lead 
a  prayer-meeting.  And  if  the  minister  has  any  good 
thoughts,  he  is  pretty  sure  to  find  good  use  for  them 
in  such  meetings  as  bring  him  face  to  face  with  his 
fellows,  with  no  barriers  of  office  between.     But  the 


OUTLOOK  OF  METHODISM.  319 

class-leader,  who  is  often  a  man  of  no  superior  thought 
or  culture,  expects  to  keep  up  the  spiritual  interest 
of  his  class  without  special  study  or  other  means  to 
qualify  himself  for  his  most  sacred  function.  Is  this 
reasonable?  Do  men,  in  these  days,  enjoy  a  special 
inspiration?  Has  not  the  time  come  when  this  most 
important  class  of  men  shall  be  more  and  better  qual- 
ified for  their  pastoral  work? 

May  not  the  financial  life  of  the  church  be  im- 
proved? Is  it  not  still  true  that,  in  too  many  of  our 
churches,  we  are  "living  from  hand  to  mouth''  in  a 
most  improvident  way  ?  For  the  most  part,  these 
great  and  fundamental  interests  are  managed  as  no 
one  would  think  of  managing  his  private  business. 
A  rare  thing  it  is  for  a  church  to  have  a  financial 
history  which  it  is  pleasant  to  contemplate.  All  this 
must  be  improved.  Hitherto  there  may  have  been 
some  excuse  for  confusion  here,  but  now  no  longer. 
Let  it  be  the  definite  ambition  of  each  church  to  have 
a  financial  plan  which  they  can  work  with  good  effect. 
It  is  by  no  means  certain  that  just  the  same  in  all 
details  is  suited  best  to  every  locality;  there  may  be 
more  or  less  variety,  but  there  should  be  a  plan,  and 
it  should  be  well  worked.  More  truly  than  it  was  said 
with  regard  to  governments,  that  "  that  which  is  best 
administered  is  best,"  may  it  be  said  as  to  plans  of 
church  finance,  that  that  one  is  best  which  is  best 
worked.  What  is  most  important  is,  that  every 
church  have  a  plan  and  adhere  to  it,  and  that  the 
minister  have  as  little  to  do  with  it  as  possible. 
Nothing  is  more  unfortunate  than  for  the  financial 
life  of  a  church  to  be  tossed  to  and  fro  by  successive 


320  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

pastors,  who  may  each  have  his  peculiar  idiosyncrasy 
to  il  hist  rate.  All  the  pastor  can  reasonably  ask  is 
that  there  be  a  plan,  and  that  it  be  faithfully  attended 
to.  Inquire  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  definitely 
what  are  to  be  the  expenses,  and  then  ask  what  sources 
of  income  shall  be  depended  on  to  balance.  Let 
nothing  be  left  to  that  limbo  of  vague  uncertainty  to 
Avhich  such  matters  are  too  often  relegated.  Unless 
there  is  special  reason  for  supposing  that  the  church 
may,  in  the  course  of  the  year,  strike  a  flowing  well 
or  a  bonanza,  let  the  question  be  persistently  urged 
at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  until  the  receipts  are 
made  to  balance  the  expenses. 

Another  class  of  men  who  are  to  be  reformed  by 
the  proper  development  of  our  local  church  life  is 
local  preachers.  The  Wesleyan  idea  of  lay  preaching 
is  scarcely  recognized  or  illustrated  in  some  portions 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  All  our  local 
preachers  are  likely  to  be  either  embryo  traveling 
ministers,  or  worn-out,  unacceptable,  or  secularized 
preachersl  Too  rarely  is  it  the  case  that  a  pastor,  in 
going  to  a  new  charge,  looks  forward  with  any  special 
hope  or  satisfaction  to  a  large  element  of  this  kind  in 
his  officiary.  In  some  cases  these  men  called  local 
preachers,  instead  of  being  in  any  special  way  helpers, 
are  in  a  special  way  obstructionists.  Instead  of 
placing  on  the  altar  the  offering  of  a  holy,  self-sac- 
rificing, cheerful  service,  they  are  spies,  croakers,  dead- 
weights, and  yet  in  an  official  position. 

Is  it  too  much  to  hope  that  this  institution  of  lay 
preaching — which  has  in  past  time  been  thought  so 
characteristic  of  Methodism  and  so  potent  for  good. 


OUTLOOK  OF  METHODISM.  321 

but  which  seems  among  us  to  have  degenerated  into 
utter  insignificance — may  be  again  elevated  into  its 
proper  character?  Now  and  then,  outside  of  our  de- 
nomination, do  we  have  an  example  of  really  useful 
and  influential  lay  preaching.  The  Moody  movement 
has  brought  to  the  front  a  very  considerable  number 
of  lay  helpers,  whose  character  and  work  answer  more 
nearly  to  the  Wesleyan  pattern  than  anything  which  we, 
as  a  denomination,  can  show.  And  in  some  sections  of 
our  own  church  we  have  local  preachers  who  are  in 
every  way  ornaments  and  vindications  of  the  office. 
The  thing  that  is  wanted  is,  that  this  institution  may 
everywhere  be  brought  back  to  its  primitive  efficiency. 
Our  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  illustrate, 
in  many  cases,  the  value  of  that  which  Methodism 
has  almost  allowed  to  die  on  her  hands. 

2.  Another  direction  in  which  we  are  to  make 
progress  is  in  the  religious  care  of  our  children.  The 
saddest  fact  that  confronts  a  pastor  of  experience  in 
the  church  is  that,  in  too  many  cases,  the  most  im- 
portant of  his  religious  families  run  out,  so  far  as  the 
church  is  concerned.  The  second  or  third  generation 
is  entirely  graceless,  or  indifferent,  or  actually  infidel. 
And  any  person  who  has  been  in  the  habit  of  grap- 
pling with  the  practical  problems  of  evangelization 
as  they  arise,  will  say  that  positively  the  most  dis- 
couraging sign  of  the  times  is  the  slender  hold  which 
our  blessed  Christianity  seems  to  maintain  on  the 
children  of  our  religious  families;  so  that,  if  they 
were  not  being  continually  re-enforced  from  without, 
the  church  would  not  hold  her  own  as  to  numbers. 
There  is  here  something   greatly    wrong.     It  is  very 


322  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

much  that,  iu  some  cases,  the  laws  of  moral  optics 
have  been  reversed,  so  that  Christian  workers  see 
distinctly  only  the  interests  which  are  the  most  dis- 
tant, and  their  eyes  are  holden  from  discerning  the 
need  and  the  danger  of  those  who  are  nearest.  There 
are  among  us  a  good  many  Mrs.  Jellabys,  who  are 
practicing  telescopic  philanthropy.  At  all  events,  the 
church  greatly  fails  with  reference  to  the  very  class 
as  to  which  she  ought  most  and  best  to  succeed.  Pos- 
sibly something  has  come  from  the  change  of  base  in 
the  matter  of  Christian  nurture.  The  Sunday-school 
has  come  in,  and  too  many  parents  have  allowed  it 
to  assume  the  entire  control  of  this  most  sacred  in- 
terest. Let  it,  then,  be  renewedly  emphasized  upon 
all  our  people,  that  the  most  sacred  of  all  their 
duties  is  to  help  their  children  to  solve  the  problem 
which  is  presented  to  each  for  solution ;  that  no  other 
work,  which  can  be  done  for  God  and  his  church,  is 
so  important  as  this  of  training  the  children  for  the 
kingdom;  that  every  parent  is  to  see  to  it  that  his 
children  are  placed  in  the  loving  arms  of  the  Savior 
of  children. 

3.  Finally,  we  must  raise  the  standard  of  minis- 
terial efficiency.  As  has  already  been  said,  the  char- 
acter of  our  work  has  been  very  much  changed  of 
late.  Our  preachers  are  less  evangelists  and  more 
pastors,  in  the  full  sense.  Their  main  work  is  not  to 
bring  men  into  the  church  from  without,  but  to  take 
care  of  those  who  are  already  in  the  fold.  To  anchor 
a  man  to  the  truth,  so  that  he  is  safer  from  falling, 
is  as  real  a  service  to  the  kingdom  of  God  as  to  bring 
in  a  new  recruit  from  without.     Now,  then,  the  pastor 


O  UTL O  OK  OF  ME  THODISM.  323 

is  set  for  the  spiritual  care  and  culture  of  the  flock. 
He  is  to  feed  them  with  Christ's  words.  He  is  to 
lead  them  into  the  fertile  pastures  of  the  Lord  and 
by  the  side  of  the  waters  of  rest.  He  is  to  keep  them, 
feed  them,  fold  them,  defend  them,  minister  to  them. 


324  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 


IV. 

GOD'S  REQUIREMENTS; 

OR,  THE  TRINITY  OF  SPIRITUAL  CHARACTER.* 

"What  doth  the  Lord  require  of  thee,  but  to  do  justly, 
and  to  love   mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God?" — 

MiCAH  VI,  8. 

THERE  is  one  class  of  facts  with  which  the  care- 
ful and  critical  student  of  the  Bible  comes  to 
be  familiar  which  are  both  interesting  and  instruct- 
ive, but  are  not  without  their  suggestions  of  diffi- 
culty ;  and  these  are  the  reappearance  of  matters  of 
Biblical  history,  with  material  additions,  such  as  are 
not  found  in  the  original  narrative.  For  example, 
Paul,  in  his  address  to  the  elders  of  Ephesus,  whom 
he  had  called  to  meet  him  at  Miletus,  says:  ^' And 
to  remember  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  how  he 
says.  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive ;''  and 
yet  we  read  the  entire  Gospel  history,  from  beginning 
to  end,  without  finding  any  intimation  that  the  Lord 
Jesus  ever  employed  any  such  language.  And  so  we 
are  made  to  know  that  Paul,  and  those  whom  he  ad- 
dressed, had  access  to  some  source  of  information  as 
to  the  life  and  words  of  Christ  of  which  we  to-day 
have  no  knowledge. 


"•••"Sermon  preached  in  the  Methodist   Episcoj^al   Church, 
Evanston,  111.,  November  6,  1881. 


GOD 'S  REQ  UIREMENTS.  325 

Again,  the  Psalmist,  in  recounting  the  expe- 
riences of  Joseph  in  the  Egyptian  prison,  says  that 
his  "feet  were  hurt  with  the  fetters;'^  and  yet,  in  the 
original  narrative,  though  it  is  very  minute  and  cir- 
cumstantial, no  mention  is  made  of  this,  thus  leading 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  writer,  in  his  acquaintance 
with  the  personal  history  of  Joseph,  was  not  limited 
to  our  book  of  Genesis. 

In  one  of  the  epistles,  the  names  of  the  magicians 
who  "withstood  Moses,"  in  that  fearful  contest  which 
he  w^aged  in  behalf  of  the  God  of  Israel  against  the 
gods  of  the  Egyptians,  are  set  down :  "  ISTow  as  Jan- 
nes  and  Jambres  withstood  Moses,  so  do  these  also 
resist  the  truth  ;'^  and  yet,  in  the  original  account, 
neither  the  names  nor  the  number  of  these  magicians 
are  given.  And  so  it  appears  that  Paul  had  other  in- 
formation as  to  this  most  central  passage  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  Hebrew  people  than  that  which  we  find 
in  our  book  of  Exodus. 

But  the  most  remarkable  illustration  is  found  in 
connection  with  the  text.  Few  passages  of  personal 
history  in  the  Old  Testament  are  more  notable  or 
more  interesting  than  that  of  the  prophet  Balaam. 
And  it  is  given  in  a  very  minute  and  circumstantial 
way,  even  the  attitude  and  words  and  all  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  principal  parties  being  most  graph- 
ically set  forth.  And  yet  it  is  reserved  for  the 
prophet  Micah,  writing  almost  a  thousand  years  after 
Balaam's  time,  to  record  his  most  searching  and 
pregnant  utterance :  "  O,  my  people,  remember  now 
what  Balak,  king  of  Moab,  consulted,  and  what  Ba- 
laam, the  son  of  Beor,  answered  him  from  Shittim  unto 


326  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

Gilgal ;  that  ye  may  know  the  righteousness  of  the 
Lord.  Wherewith  shall  I  come  before  the  Lord,  and 
bow  myself  before  the  high  God?  Shall  I  come  be- 
fore him  with  burnt-offerings,  with  calves  of  a  year 
old?  Will  the  Lord  be  pleased  with  thousands  of 
rams,  or  with  ten  thousands  of  rivers  of  oil?  Shall 
I  give  my  first-born  for  my  transgression,  the  fruit 
of  my  body  for  the  sin  of  my  soul  ?" 

To  all  this,  which  expresses  most  unmistakably 
and  distinctly  the  spirit  of  materialistic  and  ritual- 
istic heathenism,  come,,  in  reply,  the  grand  and 
solemn  words  of  the  text — a  voice  from  the  primi- 
tive monotheism  which  this  strange  character,  Ba- 
laam, must  be  taken  as  representing ;  ^^  He  hath 
showed  thee,  O  man,  what  is  good;  and  what  doth 
the  Lord  require  of  thee,  but  to  do  justly,  and  to 
love  mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God?" 

Of  the  many  important  questions  which  have  en- 
gaged the  attention  of  men,  doubtless  one  of  the  most 
important  is  that  anciently  proposed  by  the  psalmist: 
"  Who  shall  ascend  into  the  hill  of  the  Lord,  and 
who  shall  stand  in  his  holy  place  ?"  It  is  man- 
ifest that  if  the  doctrines  of  theism  be  true,  this  ques- 
tion is  invested  with  the  highest  interest  to  every 
spiritual  being.  It  is  a  question  of  interest  what  re- 
lations I  sustain  to  men,  though  they  are  truthfully 
described  as  but  the  small  dust  in  Jehovah\s  balance, 
but  ^^  as  the  grass  of  the  field  which  at  evening  is  cut 
down  and  withereth;"  yet  it  is  a  question  of  incon- 
ceivably greater  interest,  What  relation  do  I  sustain 
to  the  everlasting  God,  with  whom  there  is  no  vari- 
ableness,  neither  shadow   of  turning?     It  is  a  ques- 


GOD  '5  REQ  UIREMENTS,  327 

tion  of  interest,  Where  shall  be  my  earthly  home, 
and  who  shall  constitute  my  earthly  friends?  Shall 
I  live  in  an  atmosphere  warm  and  congenial,  or  in 
one  chilling  and  deathful?  But  rising  above  this 
question,  as  do  the  heavens  rise  above  the  earth,  is 
that  other  question  :  "  Shall  I  my  everlasting  days 
with  fiends  or  angels  spend?''  And  so  one  of  the 
great  objects  of  the  Christian  Scriptures  is  to  set  forth 
to  us  the  style  of  character  upon  which  God  hath 
placed  the  seal  of  his  approbation — to  answer  the 
question :  "  Who  shall  ascend  into  the  hill  of  the 
Lord,  and  who  shall  stand  in  his  holy  place?''  And 
one  of  the  most  intelligible  and  comprehensive  of  the 
many  epitomes  of  human  duty  scattered  throughout 
the  word  of  God  is  this  which  we  have  read  as  the 
text  for  this  morning:  ^^What  doth  the  Lord  require 
of  thee,  but  to  do  justly,  and  to  love  mercy,  and  to 
walk  humbly  with  thy  God?" 

The  theme  suggested  by  this  text,  and  to  it  your 
attention  is  now  invited,  is,  God's  Requieements  ; 
OR,  The  Trinity  of  Spiritual  Character. 

I  use  the  term  ^^ trinity"  because  it  expresses  the 
exact  truth,  and  is  the  only  term  which  does  express 
the  truth.  Spiritual  character  is  essentially  a  tri- 
unity.  It  contains  three  essential  elements,  and  only 
three,  and  these  agree  in  one.  If  either  of  these  is 
absent,  all  seeming  goodness  is  spurious.  If  any 
other  principle  is  admitted  as  co-ordinate  with  these, 
they  are  not  genuine,  but  base  counterfeits.  It  is  no 
more  possible  to  admit  another  into  the  holy  of  holies 
of  spiritual  character  than  to  seat  another  by  the  side 
of  the  infinite  God,  and  upon  his  own  throne. 


328  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

I  use  the  term  *^  spiritual '^  as  being  of  the  widest 
possible  import,  and  as  directing  our  attention  to  re- 
sults rather  than  processes.  I  do  not  say  Christian 
character — I  do  not  know  whether  this  phrase  would 
be  practically  equivalent  or  not — but  spiritual  char- 
acter, believing  that  goodness  is  one  in  all  beings  and 
in  all  worlds.  And  it  seems  to  me  to  be  well  some- 
times to  turn  away  our  attention  from  these  pro- 
cesses— these  questions  of  repentance  and  consecra- 
tion and  faith ;  the  Church,  the  ministry,  and  the 
sacraments;  the  things  we  are  to  do,  and  the  expe- 
riences which  may  come  to  us  in  doing  them — and 
to  fasten  our  attention  upon  that  one  grand  result 
unto  which  we  must  come,  in  order  to  enter  into  the 
life  of  God.  Whether  w^e  are  Methodists  or  Quakers, 
Romanists  or  Liberalists,  Externalists  or  Mystics ; 
whether  we  profess  this  creed  or  that,  or  have  had 
this  or  that  form  of  what  is  called  experience, — it  is 
well  for  us  sometimes  to  confront  that  changeless 
standard  unto  which  we  must  conform  or  w^e  can  not 
enter  into  life.  The  scaffolding  is  at  best  but  tempo- 
rary, and  must  soon  be  thrown  down.  The  great 
question  is — and  it  is  one  which  shall  brighten  or 
shadow  the  eternal  ages — when  this  has  fallen,  will 
the  temple  of  spiritual  character  stand  perfect  and 
complete,  column  and  arch  and  dome  of  everlasting 
strength  ?  Upon  these  three  essential  elements  of 
character  let  us  now  fix  our  attention. 

I.  Justice. 

As  is  characteristic  of  the  Old  Testament,  the  text 
uses  a  concrete  and  individualizing  phrase  to  set  forth 
what  is  universal.     It  is  not  the  '^  doing  justly^'  that 


GOD 'S  REQ  UIREMENTS.  329 

God  demands,  but  justice ;  not  a  form  of  life,  but  a 
quality  of  character.  It  is  no  more  necessary  to  do 
justly  than  to  speak  justly,  to  think  justly,  or  to  feel 
justly.  Just  as  the  one  great  ocean  is  known  by  dif- 
ferent names  as  it  washes  diiferent  shores,  so  this  uni- 
versal principle  is  called  by  different  names  as  it  has 
to  do  with  different  relations.  It  is  justice  in  admin- 
istration, truth  in  language,  righteousness  in  general 
character,  and  holiness  in  nature.  In  one  word,  it  is 
lightness,  rectitude,  a  thorough  and  perfect  adjust- 
ment of  the  soul  to  God,  and  so  to  all  its  spirit- 
ual relations — holiness  of  heart,  and,  by  consequence, 
holiness  of  life. 

1.   This  justice  must  be  fundamental. 

This  is  the  first,  as  it  is  also  the  decisive,  test  of 
genuineness.  Justice  which  is  not  authoritative  is 
not  justice  at  all,  but  may  be  most  delusive  and  dan- 
gerous self-seeking.  Right  doing,  with  a  view  to  in- 
terest or  advantage,  is  not  right  doing,  but  may  in- 
volve the  very  audacity  of  uttermost  rebellion,  just  as 
it  has  been  well  said,  "  The  devil  never  lies  so  badly 
as  when  he  tells  the  truth." 

Perhaps  the  deepest  and  most  comprehensive  of 
all  tests  in  morals  and  religion  is  this :  Which  is  first, 
holiness  or  happiness?  that  is,  which  of  these  is  the 
ultimate  and  sacred  thing  which  carries  in  its  bosom 
all  possible  values?  Is  right  doing  right  doing  for 
the  reason  simply  that  it  produces  a  happiness?  or  is 
it  better  to  say  that  it  produces  happiness  because  it 
is  right  doing?  Is  all  possible  good  gathered  up  in 
this  one  word  happiness,  and  do  all  tests  and  stand- 
ards of  excellence  come  forth  from  it?  or  is  there  a 

22 


330  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

higher  and  more  sacred  thing  out  of  which  all  spirit- 
ual harmonies  do  flow?  This  question  is  the  touch- 
stone of  all  the  theologies.  With  equal  clearness  does 
it  draw  the  line  between  the  Calvinist  and  the  Ar- 
minian,  and  between  the  Liberal  and  the  Evangelical. 
If  there  is  such  a  thing  as  essential  and  immutable 
justice,  then  an  arbitrary  election  to  eternal  life  or  an 
arbitrary  reprobation  to  eternal  death  is  an  impossibil- 
ity. Equally  so  is  salvation  by  mere  prerogative, 
which  is  the  last  and  highest  point  where  the  Liberal 
and  Evangelical  part  company. 

But  though  all  the  great  controversies  of  all  the 
ages  revolve  about  this  question,  the  intuitions  of  men 
upon  it  are  in  perfect  agreement.  It  is  universally 
felt  that  the  one  sacred  and  fundamental  thing  against 
which  nothing  can  prevail,  by  the  side  of  which 
nothing  can  stand,  whose  absolute  authority  no  one 
can  dispute,  which  is  solitary  and  supreme  as  God 
himself,  is  righteousness.  We  can  conceive  of  God 
as  laying  aside  his  happiness,  but  who  can  think  of 
him  as  laying  aside  his  holiness?  We  recognize  him 
as  inflicting  suffering,  but  who  does  not  feel  the  blas- 
phemy of  inquiring  whether  he  ever  inflicts  sin?  We 
sometimes  ask  whether  Christ's  divinity  suffered  in 
the  atonement,  thus  proving  that  there  is  not  in  our 
thought  any  clear  sense  of  utter  incongruity  between 
the  nature  of  Christ  and  suffering;  but  who  does  not 
recognize  such  an  incongruity  between  him  and  sin? 
But  the  general  consciousness  of  men  may  be  gleaned 
from  current  aphorisms  and  adages.  What  is  meant 
when  it  is  said  that  "  it  is  better  that  ninety  and  nine 
guilty  persons  go  unpunished,  than  that  one  innocent 


GOD'S  REQUIREMENTS. 


331 


person  should  suifer/'  unless  it  be  that  the  one  and 
only  fatal  mistake  which  the  State,  as  the  individual, 
can  commit,  is  that  of  doing  wrong;  that  while  there 
is  loss,  and  perhaps  peril,  in  suffering  wrong,  there  is 
ruin  in  doing  wrong,  for  it  unsettles  the  only  founda- 
tions upon  which  the  State  can  be  built? 

Here,  then,  is  the  beginning  of  all  excellence. 
There  is  absolutely  no  good  if  this  be  wanting.  There 
can,  by  no  possibility,  be  any  genuine  "mercy,''  or 
philanthropy,  or  "  walking  with  God,''  unless  there  is 
first  personal  righteousness.  One  may  speak  with  the 
tongues  of  men  or  of  angels ;  his  whole  life  may  be 
crowded  with  philanthropic  endeavor  and  with  heroic 
achievement ;  he  may  give  all  his  goods  to  feed  the 
poor,  and  his  body  to  be  burned,  and  yet,  unless 
there  be  in  his  deepest  soul  absolute  rectitude  as  be- 
fore God,  he  can  not  stand  in  the  judgment,  nor  in 
the  congregation  of  the  righteous. 
^.  It  must  he  universal. 

It  must  pervade  the  whole  being,  just  as  the  soul 
pervades  the  body ;  it  must  constitute  the  warp  and 
the  woof  of  character ;  it  must  enter  into  every  thought, 
purpose,  aspiration,  affection,  motive,  principle,  and 
every  outward  form  of  conduct.  The  difference  be- 
tween a  bad  man  and  a  good  man  is,  that  the  former 
sometimes  does  wrong.  Of  course  he  does  not  and 
can  not  antagonize  the  divine  administration  at  every 
point.  This,  if  it  were  possible,  would  be  instant 
and  utter  suicide,  extending  even  to  annihilation. 
The  thing  which  characterizes  a  bad  man  is,  that 
he,  at  some  times,  and  in  the  presence  of  certain 
temptations,    does    wrong    of    set    intent,    and    thus 


332  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

proves  that  it  is  in  his  heart  to  do  so.  What  God 
demands  is  spiritual  symmetry  and  integrity — sound- 
ness and  wholeness;  or,  as  the  theological  term  is, 
holiness. 

One  serious  defect  in  the  piety  of  the  present  day 
is  in  the  lack  of  the  ethical  element — of  a  delicate, 
high-toned,  and  controlling  conscientiousness.  Men 
pray  not  to  be  made  right,  but  to  be  saved  ;  and  to 
be  saved  is,  in  their  thought,  to  be  rid  of  physical 
evil,  rather  than  spiritual — of  suffering,  rather  than 
sin.  The  type  of  religion  which  prevails  is  largely 
of  the  bustling,  sentimental,  hymn-singing  order;  our 
church-life  is  often  ostentatious  and  luxurious;  but  it 
does  not,  so  certainly  as  we  might  wish,  infuse  into 
men  and  women  that  sturdy,  downright,  positive  rec- 
titude which  guarantees  fidelity  in  any  relation  in 
which  they  may  be  placed.  The  great  want  of  society 
to-day,  as  ever,  is  not  as  to  the  amenities,  refinements, 
or  decorations  of  life — good  as  these  may  be — but 
thorough  honesty  and  trustworthiness ;  truth  in  char- 
acter and  truth  in  life.  Here  is  the  great,  though  for 
the  most  part  inscrutable,  secret  of  these  fearful  dis- 
asters which,  from  time  to  time,  shock  and  terrify 
civilized  communities  of  the  latter  day — the  falling 
of  bridges,  the  foundering  of  ships,  the  starting  of 
conflagrations,  the  collapse  of  buildings,  and  the  wreck- 
ing of  railway  trains.  Though  it  can  not  often  be 
proven,  there  is  little  reason  to  doubt  that,  in  the 
majority  of  this  class  of  calamities,  the  real  culprit 
was  some  dishonest  and  unfaithful  worker — some  man 
who  held  a  precious  trust  unworthily,  and  wrought  as 
pleasing  men  rather  than  God. 


GOD'S  REQUIREMENTS.  333 

"  In  the  elder  days  of  art, 

Builders  wrought  with  greatest  care 
Each  minute  and  unseen  part ; 
For  the  gods  see  everywhere." 

II.  Mercy — "  To  love  mercy.'^ 
I   use   this  term,   taken    from   the    text   itself,  as 
suggesting  the  truth,  rather  than  expressing  it.     Our 
language   contains   no    single   term   which    sets   forth 
fully  and  adequately  the  precious  thing  here  intended. 
Benevolence   is   too    weak    and    neutral,    mercy    too 
special  and  narrow,  philanthropy  too  low  and  worldly. 
Neither  of  these  expresses  the  principle  of  self-sacri- 
fice,   which    is   the    characteristic   and    distinguishing 
thing  in  this  aspect  of  goodness.     I  mean  that  which 
w^as  illustrated  by  Saint  Paul,  when  he  said,   "  I  am 
debtor  both  to  the  Jews  and  to  the  Greeks ''—debtor, 
not  because  of  what  he  had  received  of  them,  but  be- 
cause of  his  power  to  do  them  good;  thus  recognizing 
that   grand   and    fundamental    principle    in    Christian 
living,  that  every  man  owes  every  other  man  all  the 
good   he   can   possibly  do  him  consistently  with    the 
rights  of  others.     More  beautifully  is  this  expressed 
in  another  place :  "  Yea,  and  if  I  be  offered  upon  the 
sacrifice  and  service  of  your  faith,  I  joy  and  rejoice 
with   you   all;''   that   is,   the  apostle  is  willing  to  be 
poured  out  as  a  libation— to  be  lost,  and  to  disappear, 
and  be  forgotten  altogether— if  thus  he  might  render 
the  sacrifice  of  those  for  whom  he  labored  acceptable 
in  the  sight  of  God.     Still  more  fearfully  expressive 
are  the  words  in  the  ninth  of  Romans :  "  I  could  wish 
that  myself  were  accursed  from  Christ  for  my  breth- 
ren, my  kinsmen,  according  to  the   flesh."     But  this 


334  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

principle  finds  its  crowning  illustration — and  here  it 
may  be  most  confidently  and  perfectly  identified — in 
Him  ^Svho,  though  he  was  rich,  yet  fi^r  our  sakes 
became  poor,  that  we  through  his  poverty  might  be 
made  rich;'^  who,  ^^  forasmuch  as  the  children  are 
partakers  of  flesh  and  blood,  he  also  himself  likewise 
took  part  in  the  same;''  because  ^^it  behooved  him 
to  be  made  in  all  things  like  unto  his  brethren,'' 
that  "  he,  by  the  grace  of  God,  might  taste  death  for 
every  man." 

The  grandest  thing  and  the  most  precious  thing 
in  all  this  world  is  a  truly  consecrated  soul — one  that 
continually  joffers  up  itself  in  flames  of  holy  love  on 
the  altar  of  God  and  of  humanity.  Such  a  man  be- 
longs to  the  nobility  of  heaven.  He  is  a  worker  to- 
gether with  God.  In  so  far  as  it  is  possible  for  a 
finite  being  to  be  so,  he  is  a  savior  of  men.  For 
what  this  dead  world  needs  is  not  forms,  nor  creeds, 
nor  systems — not  polish,  nor  pruning — but  life.  It 
is  not  by  mechanical  appliances,  nor  spiritual  leger- 
demain ;  not  by  robes  and  tonsures,  incense  and  atti- 
tudes and  priestly  manipulation,  that  the  terrible 
necessities  of  our  ruined  humanity  must  be  met.  The 
world  may  totter  under  its  weight  of  cathedrals ;  its 
pile  of  ghastly  uniformity,  as  to  rites  and  ceremonies, 
may  have  a  base  as  broad  as  Sahara,  and  all  be  but 
a  splendid  mausoleum  of  the  dead.  The  one  agoniz- 
ing prayer  of  sinful  humanity  is  for  life;  and  until 
this  is  answered,  we  have  no  other  wants,  and  can 
have  no  other  blessings.  And  so  he  who  becomes  in 
his  own  character  and  nature  a  channel  of  the  divine 
life,  a  port  of  entry  from  the  skies,  climbs  up  to  the 


GOD'S  REQUIREMENTS.  335 

very  throne  of  human  achievement.  All  others  come 
short  of  life's  great  end ;  these,  and  these  alone,  con- 
stitute the  peculiar  family  of  the  Most  High.  In  the 
end,  as  I  can  not  doubt,  we  shall  find  that  the  lamp 
of  sacrifice  sheds  its  light  in  every  part  of  the  divine 
dominions.  It  will  fully  appear  that  the  cross  is 
planted  in  the  very  center  of  the  spiritual  universe, 
and  that  the  dying  cry  of  the  Divine  Victim  is  the 
key-note  of  all  spiritual  harmonies.  ^^  Give  me  a 
place  to  stand,''  said  Archimedes,  in  his  enthusiasm 
at  discovering  the  principle  of  the  lever — ^'  Give  me  a 
place  to  stand,  and  I  '11  move  the  world."  And  hence 
this  is  the  question  which  men  are  asking — ^'  Pou 
stof^ — where  can  I  stand?  Where  is  the  real  center 
of  power?  Take  your  stand  at  the  cross,  and  you 
will  come  to  the  maximum  of  your  possibility.  The 
weakest  and  obscurest  worker,  standing  here,  shall 
really  move  the  world.  The  glory  of  those  who  shine 
so  brightly  and  beautifully  in  the  Christian  heavens, 
is  a  gleam  from  the  world's  great  altar-fire. 

Hear  the  story  of  one  of  these:  "In  journeyings 
often;  in  perils  of  waters,  in  perils  of  robbers,  in 
perils  by  mine  own  countrymen,  in  perils  by  the 
heathen,  in  perils  in  the  city,  in  perils  in  the  wilder- 
ness, in  perils  in  the  sea,  in  perils  among  false  breth- 
ren; in  weariness  and  painfulness,  in  watchings  often, 
in  hunger  and  thirst,  in  fastings  often,  in  cold  and 
nakedness." 

By  the  side  of  this — which  I  can  not  but  regard 
as  one  of  the  most  eloquent  passages  in  all  literature — 
I  will  place  another  characteristic  specimen  of  the 
Christian    life,    taken    from    an    obscurer   source.     A 


336  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

century  ago,  the  United  Brethren,  at  much  cost  of 
toil  and  hardship,  had  succeeded  in  establishing 
their  mission  at  Gnadenhutten,  in  Eastern  Ohio. 
One  night,  as  the  mission  family  were  at  supper,  the 
barking  of  the  dogs  alarmed  them.  One  of  the 
Brethren  opened  the  door,  when  instantly  a  volley 
was  fired  by  Indians  in  ambush.  He  fell  dead,  and 
his  wife  and  several  others  were  mortally  wounded. 
The  door  was  secured,  and  the  well  and  wounded 
took  refuge  in  the  upper  story  of  their  fort-house. 
The  Indians  at  last  fired  the  building,  and  all  but 
three  of  the  missionaries  perished.  One  sick  woman 
gained  the  cover  of  a  friendly  thicket,  and  escaped  to 
tell  the  tale.  "The  last  time  I  saw  my  sister,'^  said 
she,  "she  was  kneeling,  and  I  heard  her  say,  in  a 
clear,  sweet  voice:  ^ 'T  is  all  well,  my  dear  Savior !''' 
What  angel  in  heaven  ever  stood  on  a  lofter  height 
of  consecration  and  of  victory  ? 

III.  Religious  Devotion — "  To  walk  humbly  with 
thy  God.'' 

We  have  tarried,  perhaps,  too  long  in  the  outer 
court  of  the  temple  of  spiritual  character,  but  it  has 
been  to  learn  again  the  simple  but  all-comprehending 
lesson  of  truth.  We  have  lingered  a  moment  in  the 
holy  place  to  learn  the  lesson  of  sacrifice.  And  now 
we  come  to  the  grand  and  crowning  privilege  of  hu- 
manity— that  of  entering  into  the  holiest  of  all,  and 
experiencing  the  rapture  of  divine  communion.  "To 
walk  humbly  with  God''  describes  a  perfect  life,  and 
that,  too.  In  its  divinest  aspect.  Heaven  is  not  higher 
as  to  its  essence,  but  only  as  to  its  accidents. 

Of  the  blessedness   of  this   life    I    may   not   now 


GOD'S  REQUIREMENTS.  337 

speak.  It  were  as  easy  to  throw  upon  canvas  the 
glory  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  or  to  set  forth  by  mu- 
sical notation  the  songs  of  the  angels.  He  has  had 
but  a  poor  experience  who  has  not  known  joys  which 
were  absolutely  ineffable,  and  which  to  attempt  to 
speak  would  be  sacrilege.  There  is  ^'a  peace  that 
passeth  understanding,"  and  a  ^'joy  that  is  unspeak- 
able and  full  of  glory." 

The  struggle  to  express  this  joy  of  divine  com- 
munion has  created  the  richest  passages  in  all  litera- 
ture ;  and  yet  when  we  have  climbed  up  to  the  highest 
height  of  expression,  we  feel  that  we  are  no  nearer 
this  overarching  heaven  than  we  were  at  the  first. 
Here  originated  that  hymn  which,  by  general  consent, 
is  regarded  as  the  best  Watts  ever  wrote : 

"  My  God,  the  spring  of  all  my  joys, 
The  life  of  my  delights, 
The  glory  of  my  brightest  days, 
And  comfort  of  my  nights! 

In  darkest  shades,  if  thou  appear, 

My  dawning  is  begun  ; 
Thou  art  my  soul's  bright  morning  star, 

And  thou  my  rising  sun. 

The  opening  heavens  around  me  shine 

With  beams  of  sacred  bliss, 
If  Jesus  shows  his  mercy  mine, 

And  whispers  I  am  his." 

Still  more  expressive,  and  perhaps  more  familiar, 
is  the  language  of  Count  Zinzendorf,  as  translated  by 
John  Wesley: 

"  How  blest  are  they  who  still  abide 
Close  sheltered  in  thy  bleeding  side ! 


338  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

Who  thence  their  life  and  strength  derive, 
And  by  thee  move,  and  in  thee  Hve." 

But  more  tender  and  more  adequate  are  the  beau- 
tiful lines  of  the  devout  Dessler,  written  almost  two 
hundred  years  ago : 

"  O,  Friend  of  souls,  how  blest  the  time 
When  in  thy  love  I  rest ; 
When  from  my  weariness  I  climb 
E'en  to  thy  tender  breast ! 

The  night  of  sorrow  endeth  there ; 

Thy  rays  outshine  the  sun, 
And  in  thy  pardon  and  thy  care 

The  heaven  of  heavens  is  won." 

I  linger  only  for  two  general  remarks : 
1.  All  partial   characters   are   spurious — the   mere 
moralist,  the  mere  philanthropist,  or  the  religious  en- 
thusiast.     Integrity   in   all  spiritual   relations  is  the 
only  guaranty  of  genuineness. 

"I.  This  trinity  in  character  answers  to  the  Trinity 
of  persons  in  the  Godhead.  In  the  quality  of  thorough 
and  perfect  righteousness,  we  are  harmoniously  re- 
lated to  God  as  God,  without  any  distinction  of  per- 
sons. The  spring  of  all  real  sacrifice,  as  well  as  its 
most  perfect  illustration,  is  found  in  the  Lord  Jesus; 
and  so  this  quality  binds  us  to  the  second  person  in 
the  Trinity.  And,  finally,. divine  communion  is,  to  us 
sinners,  the  special  and  blissful  product  of  the  Holy 
Ghost;  and  so,  such  a  character  as  this  text  sets  forth 
is,  indeed,  the  "triune  shadow  of  Jehovah,'^  and  all 
they  who  possess  it  enter  into  eternal  fellowship  with 
God  the  Father,  God  the  Son,  and  God  the  Holy 
Ghost ! 


VICARIOUSNESS  OF  HUMAN  LIFE.  339 


V. 

THE  VICARIOUSNESS  OF  HUMAN  LIFE. 

"  Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens,  and  so  fulfill  the  law  of 
Christ." — Galatians  vi,  2. 

THE  theme  suggested  by  this  text,  and  which,  as  I 
have  thought,  may  profitably  guide  the  meditations 
of  this  hour,  is,  The  Vicariousness  of  Human  Life  ; 
by  which  is  meant  that  every  life  which  is  under  the 
divine  ordering  and  conforms  to  it;  every  life  that 
illustrates  the  divine  idea  of  humanity,  and  so  has  any 
claim  to  be  considered  a  true  and  typical  human  life, — 
will  manifest  itself  in  bearing  the  burdens  of  others, 
in  a  kindly,  fraternal,  and  helpful  sympathy  for  all 
who  stand  in  need  of  it. 

I.  Now,  there  are  some  things  which  can  by  no 
possibility  be  transferred,  and  the  very  first  step 
toward  defining  more  clearly  the  territory  of  thought 
brought  to  view  in  this  text,  is  to  bethink  ourselves 
of  this  fact,  and  to  consider  what  some  of  these  are ; 
for  if  all  things  could  be  thrown  off  and  laid  aside  at 
will,  there  would  remain  no  firm  basis  of  individu- 
ality, and  society  would  be  chaos. 

The  most  fundamental  and  the  most  solemn  at- 
tribute of  human  life  is  its  utter  solitariness.  There 
is  a  sense  in  which  every  individual  man  is  isolated 
and   apart  from  every  other  man,  as  really  as  though 


340  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

they  dwelt  in  different  worlds.  This  solitude  is 
changeless,  and  it  is  invincible.  We  can  not  get  be- 
low it  without  falling  out  of  being.  We  can  not  rise 
above  it  unless  we  can  rise  above  God,  who  maketh 
us  to  differ.  We  can  not  evade  it  or  ignore  it,  unless 
we  can  escape  from  ourselves,  or  repeal  Heaven's  first 
and  most  sacred  law,  written  with  the  pen  of  God  on 
every  individual  nature:  "Every  man  shall  bear  his 
own  burden. '' 

1.  For  instance,  one  can  not  transfer  his  mission 
and  work,  of  whatever  sort  it  is.  It  was  waiting  for 
him  when  he  came  into  the  world.  It  does  not  de- 
pend, and  it  never  did  depend,  upon  his  choice  or 
caprice ;  it  is  possible  for  him  to  mar  it,  but  it  was 
never  possible  for  him  to  make  it.  The  individuality 
of  a  man\s  work  is  as  perfect  and  as  immutable  as  that 
of  his  nature.  God's  plan  has  something  for  us  which 
no  other  can  do.  There  are  words  which  the  world 
needs  to  have  spoken,  and  which  God  is  waiting  to 
have  spoken,  which  we  only  can  speak.  There  is 
some  corner,  some  dark  recess,  which  will  remain  dark 
forever,  unless  our  little  light  shine  therein.  There 
is  some  humble  note  in  the  everlasting  anthem  w^hich 
no  voice  but  ours  can  strike,  and  the  harmony  will 
not  be  perfect  without  this  note. 

And  so  the  obscurest  life  may  have  a  nobility  and 
a  sacredness  just  as  inalienable  as  the  most  illustrious, 
because  it  is  under  the  interested  eye  of  God;  because 
it  has  a  divine  meaning  in  it  and  a  divine  energy 
behind  it;  because  it  is  a  part,  an  essential  part, 
of  God's  great  plan,  which  embraces  us  and  all  things. 
The     man    who    feels    that    he    has    come     into     the 


VICARIOUSNESS  OF  HUMAN  LIFE.  341 

world  on  GocVs  errand,  and  is  fulfilling  it  hour 
by  hour  and  day  by  day;  that  he  is  a  divinely 
selected  medium  of  blessing  to  his  own  family,  to  the 
community  in  which  he  lives,  to  the  congregation  in 
which  he  worships,  to  the  Sabbath-school  in  which  he 
labors,  and  to  the  friends  with  whom  he  associates, — 
has  in  this  a  consciousness  of  dignity  and  a  sense  of 
personal  worth  and  success  that  nothing  else  can,  by 
any  possibility,  give.  Assured  that  his  life  is  pro- 
ducing immortal  fruit,  he  can  well  afford  to  look  down 
on  all  earthly  good.  If  God  needs  him,  and  has  a 
place  for  him  in  his  plan,  he  is  safe,  and  should  be 
content.  The  earth  carries  just  as  lovingly  on  her 
bosom  the  humble  violet  as  she  does  proudly  on  her 
brow  the  majestic  cedar;  and  who  shall  say  that  one 
may  not,  from  the  lowliest  place,  see  as  far  into  the 
deeps  of  heaven  as  from  the  loftiest  ? 

2.  A  man's  personality  is  alienable.  There  is 
given  to  every  one  a  ^'  name  which  no  man  knoweth, 
save  he  that  receiveth  it.''  God  fits  us  for  our  work; 
and  as  it  differs,  so  do  we.  I  do  not  say  because  it 
differs.  The  reason  may  be,  and  I  think  is^  deeper; 
but  it  is  certain  that  we  differ  as  our  work.  There  is 
something  we  can  do  better  than  anybody  else — one 
sphere  in  which  each  may  be  master — a  throne  on 
which  he  may  sit,  and  a  crown  for  him  to  wear.  In 
this  sphere,  not  only  is  there  no  rival,  there  is  abso- 
lutely no  other.  The  man's  adapted  nature  is  the 
only  door  of  admission  thereto.  Every  other  is  as 
hopelessly  excluded  as  the  blind  man  from  the  gor- 
geous hues,  and  the  deaf  man  from  the  rapturous  har- 
monies, of  the  universe. 


342  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS, 

Brethren,  I  pause  to  thank  God  for  this  most  fun- 
damental of  all  rights, — the  right  to  be  one's  self;  the 
right  to  stand  in  one's  one  place,  no  matter  how  ob- 
scure; to  build  on  one's  own  foundation,  no  matter 
how  narrow;  the  right  to  think  one's  own  thoughts, 
to  cherish  individual  beliefs,  and  to  give  individual 
expression  to  the  same.  In  this  world,  where  no  two 
things  are  alike,  where  all  variety  blends  in  all  unity, 
I  accept  with  grateful  loyalty  the  mandate  which  holds 
my  personality  in  eternal  separation  from  all  others, 
and  thus  stamps  it  with  indestructible  value. 

3.  And  this  view  covers  personal  weaknesses  and 
infirmities.  These  also  are  a  part  of  our  individuality, 
and  can  not  at  will  be  laid  aside  as  an  ill-fitting  gar- 
ment. The  complete  circle  of  human  goodness  has 
never,  in  but  a  single  instance,  been  perfectly  filled 
out.  Every  other  man,  but  the  one  Divine  Man,  is  but 
a  fragment  or  a  caricature,  ill-proportioned  and  gro- 
tesque, overdone  or  underdone,  eccentric  or  fantastic. 
"He  will  be  immortal,"  says  quaint  old  Thomas 
Fuller,  ^^who  liveth  till  he  be  stoned  by  one  without 
fault."  We  all  feel,  if  our  life  amounts  to  anything 
that  can  be  called  experience,  that  we  have  not  come 
to  the  ideal  perfection,  or  to  that  perfection  which  is 
practicable  to  us — indeed,  that  we  are  terribly  other- 
wise. Our  minds  are  clouded  by  error  and  warped  by 
prejudice;  our  hearts  have  taken  in  other  guests  than 
purity,  honor,  and  disinterested  love;  and  all  this 
expresses  itself  in  our  outward  lives.  Who  of  us  can 
say  that  there  is  no  jealousy  in  our  dispositions,  no 
bitterness  in  our  feelings,  no  overreaching  in  our  deal- 
ings, no  conceit  in  our  self-esteem,  no  untruthfulness 


VICARIOUSNESS  OF  HUMAN  LIFE.  343 

in  our  utterances,  no  intolerance  in  our  judgments,  or 
hypocrisy  in  our  professions — none  of  that  radically 
impious  love  of  the  world  with  which  the  love  of  the 
Father  makes  no  compromise  ?  Alas !  the  history  of 
the  church  abundantly  shows  that  a  man  may  be  a 
saint,  that  he  may  belong  to  the  highest  circles  of 
sainthood,  and  yet  have  failings  and  foibles,  frailties 
and  imperfections.  Peter  may  have  been  too  im- 
petuous; Paul  too  inflexible;  John  too  introspective; 
Luther  too  convivial ;  Wesley  too  despotic ;  and  yet 
each  one  of  these  grand  representative  men  exhibits 
his  most  characteristic  excellences  in  the  same  direction 
with  his  most  characteristic  faults.  So  that  the  highest 
strength  of  a  man  is  likely  to  be  bound  up  in  the 
same  bundle  Avith  his  most  dangerous  weakness. 

Now,  individuality  in  this  low  and  narrow  sense 
is  practically  indelible ;  and  hence  there  is  special  need 
of  charity  in  our  judgments  of  each  other.  In  this 
great  battle  which  each  must  fight  for  himself,  of 
right  against  wrong,  of  purity  against  impurity,  of 
self-will  against  God's  will,  "every  heart  knows  its 
own  bitterness.'' 

"  Who  made  the  heart,  'tis  He  alone 

Decidedly  can  try  us ; 
He  knows  each  chord,  its  various  tone  ; 

Each  spring,  its  various  bias. 
Then  at  the  balance  let 's  be  mute — 

We  never  can  adjust  it. 
What 's  done  we  partly  may  compute, 

But  know  not  what 's  resisted." 

4.  There  is  in  this  text,  then,  no  principle  of 
agrarianism;  no  law  against  nature    seeking  to   bear 


344  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

down  and  sweep  away  the  personal  distinctions  of 
men;  no  command  that  he  whose  burden  is  already 
up  to  the  full  measure  of  his  strength  shall  attempt 
the  impossible  thing  of  carrying  his  brother\s  load. 
This  law,  "Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens/'  must  be 
interpreted  consistently  with  that  deeper  and  higher 
law,  "  Every  man  must  bear  his  own  burden."  Let 
us  fix  it,  then,  as  the  one  focal  point  of  our  conscious- 
ness toward  which  everything  must  converge,  and  from 
which  everything  must  proceed,  the  citadel  of  our 
self-hood,  the  immovable  center  of  our  spiritual  life, 
that  dniy  is  j^^^^soiial;  that  it  always  speaks  to  the 
individual  conscience;  that  every  man  must  give  ac- 
count of  himself  to  God.  Hence,  the  vicariousness 
which  I  allege  of  human  life  does  not  at  all  come 
down  into  these  deepest  depths. 

II.  We  turn  now  to  the  burdens  which  are  trans- 
ferable, and  to  which  the  command  of  the  text  applies : 

1.  The  first  group  of  these  is  found  in  what  are 
called  our  temporal  affairs.  "  The  first  practical  prob- 
lem in  all  philosophy,"  as  Carlyle  says,  "is  that  of 
keeping  soul  and  body  together,"  and,  as  many  of 
us  have  found  long  ere  this,  it  is  a  problem  not  easy 
to  solve.  With  care  and  poverty,  sickness  and  acci- 
dent, carelessness  and  ignorance,  cutting  away  at  the 
bond  of  union,  it  is  not  an  easy  matter  to  preserve 
and  keep  it.  It  is  not  so  simple  a  problem  as  might 
at  first  appear.  "  Man  does  not  live  by  bread  alone." 
Not  alone  must  our  grosser  physical  necessities  be 
met,  but  those  which  are  more  subtle  and  ethereal, 
which  take  hold  of  the  rarer  and  richer  products  of  a 
Christian  civilization.      The  question  is   not  simply, 


VICARIOUSNESS  OF  HUMAN  LIFE.         345 

how  to  keep  our  physical  nature  from  starvation, 
but  how  to  keep  our  mental  nature,  our  social  nature, 
our  esthetic  nature,  our  moral  nature,  from  starvation. 
So  that  this  hand-to-hand  fight  with  want  and  pov- 
erty, in  which  so  many  of  us  are  engaged,  is  a  great 
deal  more  hotly  contested  than  would  at  first  appear, 
and  it  brings  to  most  of  us  the  varying  fortunes  of 
victory  and  defeat.  With  a  majority  the  issue  hangs 
in  suspense  from  first  to  last,  so  that  very  few  indeed, 
even  in  the  most  prosperous  communities,  ever 
come  to  feel  that  they  have  built  up  an  adequate  bar- 
rier between  themselves  and  families  and  want.  There 
is  always  a  possibility,  a  dreaded  possibility,  that  all 
resources  may  at  last  fail,  and  those  we  love  be  turned 
out  upon  the  world  shelterless  and  dependent.  Not  a 
few  feel  that  their  hold  on  competency  and  comfort  is 
by  the  frailest  of  tenures — health,  particular  occupa- 
tion, the  fortunes  of  trade,  and  such  like  uncertain- 
ties— so  that  the  tenure  is  liable  at  any  time  to  be 
broken.  And  thus  in  every  circle  are  those  living 
under  grinding  and  depressing  conditions,  like  men  in 
a  sack  trying  to  run  a  race,  or  prisoners  let  out  to 
work  in  the  quarry  or  to  macadamize  the  street,  yet 
tethered  to  their  bondage  by  ball  and  chain. 

Of  all  this  I  by  no  means  complain.  I  have  no 
suspicion  that  the  universe  is  badly  managed,  that  it 
has  fallen  out  of  the  hands  of  our  wise  and  tender 
Father  into  the  power  of  some  malignant  tyrant  who 
delights  to  lay  upon  men  unnecessary  and  cruel  exac- 
tions. I  have  no  doubt  that  the  grand  outcome  will, 
when  it  is  reached,  vindicate  all  the  intermediate  steps. 
If  this    world  is  a  spiritual  gymnasium,  it  ought  to 

23 


346  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

aiford  some  pretty  vigorous  exercise.  If  it  is  a  train- 
ing-school for  immortality,  it  ought  to  be  such  as  to 
develop  and  perfect  our  highest  powers,  so  that,  when 
we  graduate  from  it,  it  shall  be  with  strong,  symmet- 
rical, and  thoroughly  cultivated  natures.  If  it  is  a 
battle-ground,  it  were  well  that  it  should  be  the  battle- 
ground of  humanity,  and  perhaps,  also,  of  the  spiritual 
universe.  Let  all  the  hostile  forces  that  can  ever 
meet  us,  meet  us  here  and  now,  only  so  that  all  the 
divine  resources  which  can  ever  be  available  to  us 
shall  be  available  here  and  now ;  and  then  shall  the 
issue,  when  we  reach  it,  be  decisive,  and  the  victory 
permanent. 

We  may  not  complain,  then,  of  the  hardship  of 
self-support.  It  gives  a  rest,  a  significance,  and  a 
value  to  life,  which  would  be  otherwise  impossible. 
The  little,  loving  sacrifices  and  tender  plannings  and 
willing  toils  which  are  interwoven  into  the  possessions 
of  the  poor,  make  them  a  thousand  times  more  pre- 
cious than  the  decorative  ciphers  which  fill  the  homes 
of  the  rich.  Show  me  a  man  who  inherits  this  earth 
to  the  very  fullness  of  the  promise,  and  I  will  show 
you  one  who  paid  the  price  of  wise  and  thoughtful 
planning,  and  patient  and  persistent  toil,  for  the  ac- 
quisitions he  made.  One  of  the  most  fearful  curses 
that  can  come  upon  a  human  life  is  that  "  insupport- 
able weight  of  emptiness'^  which  they  feel  who  have 
nothing  to  do  but  to  fill  up  every  day  from  brim  to 
brim  with  trifles. 

But  though  we  may  not  accuse  God's  plan  which 
requires  us,  each  one  for  himself,  in  some  sense  to 
create   the   value   which    he   would   find    in    outward 


VICARIOUSNESS  OF  HUMAN' LIFE.         347 

things,  and  makes  it  impossible  that  any  wealth  should 
be  thrust  upon  us  as  from  without,  yet,  on  the  other 
hand,  we  must  not  fail  to  see  that,  because  of  these 
"  heavy  burdens  and  grievous  to  be  borne,''  Christianity 
comes  in  with  its  special  help  and  alleviations  and 
inspirations.  It  comes  demanding  that  men  who  are 
Christian  in  every  other  department  of  life  shall  not 
be  unchristian  here.  It  comes  enjoining  us  to  remem- 
ber that  all  we  are  brethren.  It  would  sweep  away 
all  artificial  distinctions,  such  as  are  based  on  mere 
fortune  and  not  on  culture  or  character  or  intrinsic 
worth.  It  comes  enjoining  on  all  the  duty  of  simple 
living  and  humble  loving,  and  this  is  the  gospel's 
perfect  remedy  for  the  most  serious  evils  that  afflict 
society.  It  comes  forbidding  that  the  burdens  of 
God's  poor  should  be  wantonly  increased  by  oppres- 
sion and  cruel  exactions ;  by  overreaching  in  business ; 
by  any  contrivances  to  obtain  an  undue  or  unfair  ad- 
vantage; by  any  and  all  expedients  to  interrupt  the 
natural  flow  of  supply  to  demand,  and  thus  to  divert 
nature's  reward  of  honest  toil  into  the  coifers  of  the 
crafty  human  parasites  who  live  on  the  life  of  their 
fellows ;  by  carrying  the  oppressive  tyranny  of  fashion 
into  all  circles  of  human  life,  even  into  the  house  of 
God  itself;  and  by  whatsoever  in  our  business  habits, 
and  in  the  ordering  of  our  daily  lives,  tends  to  make 
this  problem  one  of  greater  difficulty  and  security  to 
the  poor  "brethren  of  our  Lord"  that  may  be  found 
in  every  community. 

Carry  to  those  who  need  it  a  tender  and  consider- 
ate sympathy  ;  assure  them  of  your  sense  of  identity 
with  them  in  their  trials  ;  lift  the  burden   from  their 


348  L'ECrURES  AND  SERMONS. 

hearts ;  chase  away  the  shadow  of  despondency,  if  not 
despair,  that  is  beginning  to  fall  across  their  lives; 
help  them  to  a  richer  strength  and  a  nobler  courage ; 
and,  in  so  far  as  the  way  can  be  opened  without 
working  a  sense  of  dependence  and  degradation  in 
them,  minister  unto  their  need  of  your  bounty.  '^  He 
that  seeth  his  brother  have  need  and  shutteth  up  his 
bowels  of  compassion  against  him,  how  dwelleth  the 
love  of  God  in  him?'^ 

2.  The  second  group  of  our  burdens  are  those 
which  come  out  of  our  mortal  condition, — infirmity, 
disease,  suffering,  and  death. 

In  these  is  the  whole  world  kin.  The  rich  and 
the  poor  meet  together  on  the  bed  of  pain  and  in  the 
narrow  house  appointed  for  all  living.  The  solemn, 
inevitable  hour  marches  steadily  on  for  each  one  of 
us,  w^hether  w^e  wake  or  sleep,  rest  or  labor,  suffer  or 
rejoice.  We  all  stand  in  the  presence  of  this  dread 
certainty ;  and  so  there  is  a  sense  of  common  ex- 
posure and  common  peril.  The  grave  that  opened 
yesterday  to  receive  my  brother,  may  open  to-morrow 
for  me.  His  mortal  agony,  which  I  could  not  allevi- 
ate, is  a  truthful  prophecy  of  my  own ;  for 

"  Soon  shall  death's  oppressive  hand 
Lie  heavy  on  these  languid  eyes." 

I  can  not  at  this  time  discuss  the  dark  and  diffi- 
cult problem  of  physical  evil.  I  would,  however, 
express  the  faith  I  have  that  it  is  all  light  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  cross.  As  I  have  already  said  of  some 
of  the  hard  conditions  of  our  present  life,  I  have  no 
suspicion  that  these  come  from  a  malign  power.     God 


VICARIOUSNESS  OF  HUMAN  LIFE.         349 

hath  put  all  things  in  the  Christian  inventory, — losses 
and  crosses,  defeats  and  disappointments,  sicknesses 
and  bereavements,  and  even  our  mortal  pain  and 
anguish. 

There  is  no  ministry  on  this  earth  which  is  holier 
than  the  ministry  of  pain,  unless  it  be  the  ministries 
which  itself  invokes.  "'  How  often  have  I  thought 
myself  at  home,  save  until  sickness  roundly  told  me  I 
was  mistaken  !''  '^If  the  good  Lord  had  not  put  thorns 
in  my  pillow,  I  should  have  slept  away  and  lost  my 
glory.'^  How  many  a  man  has  had  occasion  to  say, 
substantially,  with  Whitefield,  ''  that  notwithstanding 
his  sickness  continued  for  six  or  seven  weeks,  he 
should  have  occasion  to  bless  God  for  it  through  the 
ages  of  eternity  P^  How  many  of  us  would  to-day  be 
walking  altogether  in  the  light  of  this  world,  looking 
only  at  the  things  which  are  seen,  had  we  not  been 

"  Compelled 
By  pain  to  turn  our  thoughts  towards  the  grave, 
And  face  the  regions  of  eternity  ?" 

^^  Of  all  the  know-nothing  persons  in  this  world," 
says  Thomas  Hood,  "commend  us  to  the  man  who  has 
never  known  a  day's  illness.  He  is  a  moral  dunce ; 
one  who  has  lost  the  greatest  lesson  in  life;  who  has 
skipped  the  finest  lecture  in  that  great  school  of  hu- 
manity, the  sick-chamber." 

But  the  ministry  of  sickness  and  suffering  is  spe- 
cially valuable,  in  that  it  calls  out  the  Christ-like  sym- 
pathies of  others,  and  gives  them  legitimate  play.  It 
throws  wide  open  the  door  of  Christian  duty.  It 
makes  it  possible  for  us  to  be  literally  followers    of 


350  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

Him  who  himself  took  our  infirmities  and  bore  our 
sicknesses,  and  whose  miracles  were  wrought  in  the 
direction  of  human  relief.  In  nothing  is  the  Christian 
more  Christ-like  than  when  he  is  seeking  to  relieve  the 
terrible  pressure  of  sin  and  suffering  upon  individual 
members  of  our  race,  carrying  light  to  dark  homes, 
and  joy  and  courageous  hope  to  sad  and  despairing 
hearts.  The  necessity  that  is  sometimes  on  the  par- 
ent thus  to  minister  to  his  own  child,  or  the  child  to 
his  parent,  or  neighbor  to  neighbor,  is  one  of  the  most 
potent,  purifying,  and  unifying  influences  which  God 
has  sent  out  into  this  world. 

3.  But  the  most  important  class  of  burdens  are 
spiritual;  for  the  one  real  burden  of  humanity  is 
sin.  This  is  the  one  terrible  fact  in  the  history  of 
this  planet,  and  in  the  history  of  humanity.  Nothing 
else  has  power  so  to  weight  us  down  as  that  we  shall 
miss  the  immortal  prize.  Eliminate  this  from  the  na- 
ture of  man,  and  he  rises  to  heaven  with  a  momentum 
which  no  power  in  the  universe  can  overbear.  Fail 
to  eliminate  it,  and  he  sinks,  not  into  poverty  and 
misery  and  obscurity  merely,  but  into  the  very  depths 
of  perdition  itself. 

'Hence  the  one  need  of  humanity,  in  the  presence 
of  which  there  is  no  other,  is  the  need  that  this  bur- 
den shall  be  borne.  And  it  is  this  terrible  need  which 
unlocks  the  deep  mystery  of  the  incarnation  itself. 
The  one  mission  on  which  Christ  came  to  this  world 
is  to  bear  the  sin  of  the  world.  The  one  comprehen- 
sive description  of  Christ  in  his  relations  to  men — that 
which  carries  all  others  in  its  bosom — is  that  to  which, 
in  our  Sunday-school  studies  we  have  recently  given 


VICARIOUSNESS  OF  HUMAN  LIFE.         351 

attention  :  "  Behold  the  lamb  of  God,  which  taketh 
away  [or  better,  beareth]  the  sin  of  the  world/'  And 
this  is  our  work  with  reference  to  each  other,  just  as 
absolutely  as  it  is  Christ's  work.  Our  mission  is  laid 
in  his  mission ;  our  life  is  but  the  outflowing  of  his 
life,  so  that  they  are  not  two,  but  one.  A  Christian 
is  to  be  in  his  sphere  just  as  really  a  savior  of  others 
as  is  Christ  in  his  sphere. 

Here,  then,  is  our  great  work.  It  is  a  blessed 
thing,  a  good  and  Christ-like  thing,  to  lighten  the  ills 
of  poverty  to  our  fellow-men  ;  to  walk  by  the  side  of 
the  weary  and  heavy-laden  ones,  and  give  them  the 
support  of  our  strength  and  sympathy.  But  how  much 
better  to  bring  them  to  know  and  to  have  the  true 
riches !  It  is  divine,  as  well  as  in  the  highest 
sense  human,  ^^  humane,"  to  minister  to  the  sick  and 
suifering  and  dying;  and  yet  the  most  blessed  of  all 
ministries  to  them  is  that  which  brings  into  their 
hearts  that  divine  alchemy  of  the  grace  of  God  which 
transmutes  all  things  to  gold — all  things,  for  even  sick- 
ness and  suffering  and  decrepitude  and  mortal  an- 
guish become  precious  treasure  in  the  Christian's  in- 
ventory. 

III.  Such,  then,  is  the  general  sweep  of  the  ex- 
hortation of  the  text.  With  what  divine  simplicity 
and  authority  do  these  truly  characteristic  words  come 
to  us !  By  what  weighty  sanctions  is  this  command 
enforced — sanctions  of  duty  and  of  interest,  of  sympa- 
thy and  of  gratitude,  of  humanity  and  of  religion,  the 
promise  of  the  life  which  now  is  and  of  that  which  is  to 
come! — especially  by  that  highest  of  all  considera- 
tions, the  essential  nature  of  spiritual  life.     For  life  is 


352  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

shown  in  these,  that  it  appropriates  and  that  it  give^. 
If  it  fails  in  either  of  these  functions,  it  fails  fatally. 
He  who  does  not  devote  himself  to  the  w^elfare  of 
others,  is  dead  while  he  liveth.  There  is  no  hell  so 
fearful  as  that  which  the  consummately  selfish  man 
carries  about  in  his  own  breast.  The  verdict  expressed 
by  our  words  inhuman  and  humane,  is  universally  ap- 
proved. He  who  never  manifests  toward  the  needy 
and  unfortunate  a  spirit  of  helpful  sympathy,  is  pro- 
nounced inhuman ;  that  is  to  say,  he  ceases  to  be  a 
man.  He  gives  the  lie  to  his  own  proper  nature,  and 
voluntarily  descends,  not  to  the  level  of  the  brute,  but 
to  that  of  the  demon.  And  just  in  the  ratio  in  which 
a  man  rises  to  the  full  dignity  of  self-sacrifice,  rejoic- 
ing in  the  most  literal  and  comprehensive  sense  to  give 
himself  for  others — going  with  a  generous  helpfulness 
to  all  who  stand  in  need  of  what  he  can  give  or  do, 
counting  not  his  life  dear  only  so  he  can  bless  and 
save  his  fellow-men — just  in  that  ratio  is  he  in  the 
deepest  and  fullest  sense  humane,  does  he  attain  to  the 
richest  and  most  characteristic  human  life. 

I  know  of  no  words  more  full  of  tender  suggestion 
than  those  words  of  Christ  recorded  in  the  25th 
chapter  of  Matthew,  as  spoken  by  him  in  vindication 
of  his  own  decision  in  favor  of  those  whom  he  had 
placed  on  his  right  hand :  "  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done 
it  to  the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it 
unto  me.^^  O,  if  we  could  but  recognize  in  the  men 
and  women  about  us  the  real  brethren  and  sisters  of 
our  Lord;  if  we  could  realize  that  he  does  absolutely 
identify  himself  with  them,  and  treat  what  is  done  for 
them  as  done  for  himself;  that,  having  given  himself 


VICARIOUSNESS  OF  HUMAN  LIFE.         353 

for  us,  he  makes  it  possible  for  us  to  give  ourselves  to 
him  in  deeds  of  love  and  mercy  to  our  fellow-men, 
how  would  we  rejoice  to  bear,  as  much  as  in  us  lies, 
the  burdens  of  our  sinful  and  our  suffering  brethren ! 
May  God  inspire  us  with  patient,  loving,  self-sacrific- 
ing zeal,  to  walk  thus  literally  in  the  very  steps  of 
our  blessed  Master! 


354  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 


VI. 

THE  CHARACTER  OF  A  TRUE  LIFE. 

"For  me  to  live  is  Christ."— Philippians  i,  21. 

I  DOUBT  whether  any  other  sentence  ever  written, 
inspired  or  uninspired,  condenses  so  much  practical 
truth  into  so  small  a  compass  as  this  which  I  have 
just  read.  And  if  any  man  comes  to  understand  this 
truth  perfectly,  and  to  appropriate  it  fully;  if  any 
man  comes  to  a  profound  and  thorough  experience  of 
this  life  of  Christ  in  the  soul,  he  will  thus  solve  the 
all-important  problem  of  personal  excellence,  and  the 
equally  important  problem  of  "personal  usefulness. 
And  in  some  manner,  let  us  remind  ourselves,  this 
problem  of  life  must  be  solved,  for  life  is  henceforth 
to  everyone  of  us  an  unfading  reality. 

The  time  was  when  we  had  no  conscious  existence, 
when  our  names  had  never  been  spoken,  when  our 
places  in  this  universe  were  unfilled,  when  our  seats  in 
the  great  family  of  God  were  unoccupied ;  but  that  time 
never  shall  return.  We  have  commenced  to  prose- 
ciite  an  endless  journey.  We  have  entered  upon  a 
path  which  we  must  tread  unceasingly.  AVe  liave 
received  a  boon  from  which  w^e  can  not  part.  We  have 
taken  life  for  ^'richer  or  for  poorer,  for  better  or  for 
worse,^^  and  death  can  not  separate  us.  The  time  may 
indeed  come  when  we  shall  desire  to  die,  but  we  shall 
not  be   able.      In    the  deep  and  bitter   agony  of  our 


CHARACTER  OF  A  TRUE  LIFE.  355 

hearts,  produced  by  the  fearful  prospect  before  us,  we 
may  call  upon  the  rocks  and  the  mountains  to  fall  on 
us  and  crush  us;  but  prayers  of  this  sort  will  never 
be  answered.  So  long  as  an  indestructible  nature 
can  live,  so  long  as  God  shall  occupy  the  everlast- 
ing throne,  so  long  shall  you  and  I  experience  the 
inconceivable  bliss  or  the  untold  misery  connected 
with  a  never-ending  life. 

But  though  we  exercise  no  agency  as  to  the  jaci 
of  life,  we  must  exercise  a  controlling  agency  as  to  the 
character  of  our  lives;  or,  in  other  words,  though 
what  has  been  called  ^'the  nameless  secret  of  exist- 
ence ^'  may  not  be  unlocked  at  will  by  any  one  of  us, 
the  question  of  life  in  its  highest  and  fullest  sense 
must  always  wait  for  an  individual  answer.  It  is 
true  we  may  not  be  able  to  determine  with  perfect 
freedom  the  outward  form  that  our  lives  may  take ; 
as  to  whether  we  will  be  rich  or  poor,  learned  or 
unlearned,  men  of  eminence  or  men  of  comparative 
obscurity, — these  questions  are  often  determined  for 
us  by  the  providence  of  God.  But  every  question 
upon  which  depends  not  merely  the  hue  and  coloring 
and  accidental  form  of  our  lives,  but  also  their  tone 
and  spirit  and  essential  character,  must  be  answered 
by  ourselves,  and  can  be  answered  by  no  other. 
Whether  we  will  be  honest  or  dishonest,  true  or  false, 
virtuous  or  vicious,  spiritual  or  sensual ;  whether  we 
will  find  our  highest  excellence  in  the  nature  which 
constitutes  us  brothers  "  to  the  insensible  rock,  or  to 
the  sluggish  clod  which  the  rude  swain  turns  with  his 
share  and  treads  upon,"  or  in  that  higher  nature  which 
we  share  with  angels  and  with  God, — these  are  ques- 


356  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

tions  which  each  man  must  answer  for  himself.  Not 
all  the  love  of  heaven,  and  not  all  the  sympathy  of 
man,  can  repeal,  or  in  any  measure  modify,  the  law 
which  is  written  as  in  letters  of  fire  in  every  human 
conscience :  "  Every  man  must  bear  his  own  burden." 
That  is  a  sad  refrain  which  comes  up  from  the  old 
Scotch  song: 

"  There  's  nae  room  for  twa,  ye  ken  ; 

There's  nae  room  for  twa. 
In  the  narrow  house  where  all  maun  lie, 
There  's  nae  room  for  twa." 

And  if  there's  no  room  for  two  in  our  graves, 
there's  no  room  for  two  in  our  standing-places  in 
life — in  our  portion  of  the  great  harvest  field — in  our 
seats  in  the  mansions  of  glory. 

I  knoAV  that  life  is  sometimes  represented  as  a 
voyage;  but  no  two  of  us  go  in  the  same  ship.  I 
know  that  it  is  a  journey,  and  yet  we  do  not  travel 
the  journey  of  life  in  caravans.  Every  man  is  alone 
in  his  distinctive  personal  endowments,  alone  in  the 
position  hfe  occupies  and  the  relations  he  sustains; 
alone  must  he  fight  the  battles  of  life,  and  meet  its 
stern  and  solemn  issues;  alone  must  he  contend  with 
the  last  fell  destroyer,  and  alone  must  he  confront  the 
awards  of  eternity. 

I  hav^e  one  more  preliminary  remark;  and  O  that 
I  had  emphasis  with  which  to  utter  it !  Everything 
that  is  precious  to  us  is  involved  in  this  matter  of 
life.  1  know  that  we  are  constructed  to  feel  a  deep 
interest  in  questions  which  are  purely  mechanical  and 
incidental — questions  of  form,  place,  occupation,  and 
of  outward  relation ;  but  when  we  come  to  see  things 


CHARACTER  OF  A  TRUE  LIFE.  357 

as  they  really  are,  when  the  revealing  light  of  God^s 
truth  shall  shine  in  the  hidden  chambers  of  our  souls, 
and  give  us  to  see  the  solemn  realities  in  whose  pres- 
ence we  do  continually  stand,  then,  O  then,  it  is  that 
we  are  made  to  feel  that  absolutely  nothing  has  any 
value  at  all  that  lies  without  the  domain  of  spiritual 
character.  I  care  what  relations  I  sustain  to  men, 
though  I  know  they  are  but  ^^  the  small  dust  in  Jeho- 
vah's balance,'^  but  as  "the  grass  of  the  field  which 
to-day  is  and  to-morrow  is  cut  down  and  withereth ;" 
and  yet,  after  all,  I  profoundly  feel  that  the  great 
question  is:  What  relation  do  I  sustain  to  the  ever- 
lasting God,  with  whom  there  is  no  variableness, 
neither  shadow  of  turning  ?  It  is  a  matter  of  interest 
with  me.  Where  shall  be  my  earthly  home,  and  who 
shall  constitute  my  earthly  friends?  Shall  I  live  in 
an  atmosphere  warm  and  congenial,  or  in  one  frigid 
and  deathful?  But  rising  as  far  above  this  question 
as  do  the  heavens  rise  above  the  earth,  is  that  other 
question : 

"  Shall  I  my  everlasting  days 
With  fiends  or  angels  spend?" 

I  repeat  it,  then,  this  question  of  life  is  the  sw- 
preme  question.  It  carries  in  its  bosom  all  the  bliss- 
ful and  all  the  fearful  possibilities  which  are  wrapped 
up  in  a  deathless  nature.  If  this  problem  is  rightly 
solved,  the  door  is  opened  into  an  illimitable  paradise ; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  if  this  problem  is  not  solved, 
it  shall  be  written  as  the  final  and  fearful  sentence  of 
our  probationary  history,  "  And  the  door  was  shut." 

If,  then,  it  is  true  that  we  are  to  live  forever,  and 
that  each  man  for  himself  must  determine  the  char- 


358  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

acter  of  this  unending  life,  and  that  upon  the  char- 
acter of  this  life  all  precious  things  do  really  depend, 
can  any  theme  be  more  appropriate  to  this  hour  than 
THE  Character  of  a  True  I^ife?  To  this  theme 
I  invite  you  this  hour. 

The  language  used  in  the  text  is  of  most  extraor- 
dinary, and  yet,  as  regards  Paul,  of  char  acter  istic  bold- 
ness. It  implies  that  every  one  who  truly  lives,  is  in 
his  measure  and  sphere  an  anointed  one — a  prophet 
and  a  savior.  To  live  is  not  to  enjoy  Christ  merely, 
though  it  is  certainly  this ;  not  to  imitate  Christ ;  not 
to  preach  him  and  serve  him,  though  of  course,  all 
these  are  involved;  but  ^'to  live  is  Christ."  That 
is,  in  the  case  of  every  individual  who  truly  lives,  it 
will  be  as  though  Christ  were  again  incarnated  in 
him;  and  hence  his  life  will  be  a  reproduction  of 
Christ's  life,  and  identical  with  it  in  nature  and  es- 
sential qualities.  Let  us  avail  ourselves  of  this  sug- 
gestion for  the  purposes  of  this  hour. 

I.  A  True  Life  is  an  Earnest  One. 

I  use  a  term  that  suggests,  rather  than  fully  ex- 
presses, my  meaning.  It  is  too  narrow  and  too  in- 
tense to  set  before  us  broadly  and  adequately  that 
dynamic  element  in  character  on  which  I  would  first 
insist.  The  foundation-attribute  of  every  successful 
life  must  be  the  attribute  oi  poiuer  ;  not  latent  power, 
or  dead  power,  but  power  projected  into  action — liv- 
ing force.  This  needs  to  be  plainly  stated,  and  espe- 
cially to  every  young  person.  There  must  be  a  cause 
if  there  is  to  be  an  effect.  If  you  would  have  your 
life  crowned  with  golden  results,  you  must  pay  the 
price.     Real  success  can  not  be  inherited,  or  bought. 


CHARACTER  OF  A  TRUE  LIFE.  359 

or  obtained  by  chance,  or  brought  down  from  the 
skies  by  faith  and  by  prayer — it  must  be  wrought  out. 
We  are  living  under  a  reign  of  law,  and  every  form 
of  good  has  its  exact  arnd  unchangeable  price  affixed, 
which,  under  no  conditions,  will  ever  be  commuted. 
Every  really  precious  thing  must  be  consecrated  with 
the  baptism  of  tears  and  blood.  Weariness  of  muscle, 
of  brain,  and  of  heart,  lie  between  us  and  our  goal. 

"The  lottery  of  honest  labor  is  the  only  one  whose 
prizes  are  worth  taking  up  and  carrying  home."  La- 
bor is  the  one  universal  currency  of  heaven  ;  "  the 
gods  sell  everything  good  for  labor." 

And  so  the  one  quality  of  character  which  is  primal 
and  fundamental — a  quality  without  which  our  lives 
are  a  failure  from  the  beginning,  and  we  are  dead 
while  we  live — is  earneHtnesa.  Let  our  souls  be  vital 
in  every  part,  through  and  through.  Every  point  of 
our  characters  should  stream  with  energy.  To  begin 
with,  let  us  bring  the  quantity  of  our  life  up  to  its 
proper  maximum.  ''  In  youth,  work ;  in  middle  age, 
give  counsel ;  in  old  age,  pray." 

There  are  two  terms  which  are  very  often  con- 
founded, and  the  practical  confusion  of  these  lies  at 
the  foundation  of  many  very  damaging  mistakes,  both 
of  theory  and  practice  ;  and  these  are,  life  and  existence. 
And  yet  no  two  terms  are  more  distinct.  All  the  dif- 
ference between  the  body  living  and  the  body  dead — 
between  the  living,  sentient  soul  and  the  body  which 
is  its  servant  and  minister;  yea,  all  the  difference 
which  separates  the  insensible  rock  and  the  sluggish 
clod  from  the  highest  archangel  which  stands  before 
the  throne, — all  that  difference,  then,  is  between  life  and 


360  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

mere  existence.     The  rock  as  truly  exists  as  does  the 
angel;  the  difference  is,  that  the  angel  lives! 

If,  then,  life  and  existence  are  not  the  same,  it  fol- 
lows that  they  may  have  different  measures.  Exist- 
ence is  measured  so  as  to  show  its  dimensions  in  space 
and  duration,  by  feet  and  miles,  days  and  years,  but 
life  can  not  be  so  measured.  Many  a  young  man  dies, 
as  we  lament,  prematurely.  His  sun  is  said  to  have 
gone  down  while  it  was  yet  day.  We  mark  his  last 
resting-place  with  a  broken  shaft,  as  if  to  say  that  his 
life  was  an  unfinished  thing,  imperfect  and  fragment- 
ary— a  comparative  failure;  and  yet,  as  I  can  not 
doubt,  in  the  sight  of  God  his  life  was  really  richer, 
more  complete,  and  crowned  with  more  golden  fruit- 
age than  the  life  of  many  another  who  has  died  at 
threescore  and  ten,  and  seemed  to  go  down  to  the 
grave  like  a  shock  of  corn  fully  ripe  and  ready  for  the 
harvest. 

"  We  live  in  deeds,  not  years;  in  thoughts,  not  breaths; 
In  feelings,  not  in  figures  on  a  dial. 
We  should  count  time  by  heart-throbs." 

Here,  then,  is  the  outer  court  in  the  temple  of  spir- 
itual character  where  all  stand  together  and  on  a  com- 
mon level;  where  Christian  and  infidel,  Jew  and  Gen- 
tile, the  spiritual  soldier  and  the  earthly  warrior,  Paul 
the  persecutor  and  Paul  the  apostle,  Csesar  the  earthly 
monarch,  and  Christ  the  Spiritual  King,  Wesley  and 
Wellington,  Luther  and  Loyola,  Newton  and  Napo- 
leon, meet  and  mingle  without  distinction. 
II.  A  True  Life  must  be  a  Loyal  One. 
Loyal  to  God  and  to  his  universe ;  loyal  to  truth 
and  righteousness.     And  this  means  a  profound  and 


CHARACTER  OF  A  TRUE  LIFE.  361 

controlling  sense  of  the  sancity  of  law  and  of  right. 
This  is  the  holy  place  in  the  temple  of  spiritual  char- 
acter. He  who  enters  here  belongs  to  the  kingdom 
of  God.  He  has  crossed  the  line  of  demarkation  which 
separates  the  children  of  this  world  from  the  children 
of  light. 

The  great  question  in  morals  and  in  practical  re- 
ligion is  this  :  Which  is  first,  holiness  or  happiness? 
Is  an  act  right  because  it  promotes  happiness;  or  does 
it  promote  happiness  because  it  is  right  ?  This  is  the 
great  question  of  all  the  ages,  carrying  in  its  bosom 
all  the  great  issues  which  have  been  raised,  not  only 
in  morals,  but  in  religion  itself;  and  yet,  if  I  mistake 
not,  the  intuitions  of  men  upon  it  are  all  one  way. 
Various  are  the  tests  which  may  be  applied  to  ascer- 
tain what  these  intuitions  are;  but  when  they  are  ap- 
plied, the  result  is  invariably  the  same.     For  instance : 

1.  We  can  conceive  of  God  as  laying  aside  his 
happiness  in  some  sense  and  in  some  degree,  as,  per- 
haps, may  be  involved  in  the  very  idea  of  the  atone- 
ment; but  who  can  conceive  of  God  as  laying  aside 
his  holiness  f 

2.  We  can  think  of  God  as  inflicting  unhappiness, 
as  indeed  he  does  on  all  hands  in  the  common  course 
of  nature  and  providence;  but  who  can  conceive  of 
God  as  inflicting  sinf  The  antagonism  between  God 
and  spiritual  evil  is  so  absolutely  perfect  as  to  amount 
to  an  exact  contradiction,  so  that  we  can  no  more  think 
of  God  as  originating  Satan,  in  his  character  as  Satan, 
than  we  can  think  of  him  as  casting  down  his  own 
throne. 

3.  And  what   mean   these  popular  adages  which, 

24 


362  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

whether  true  or  false,  certainly  express  the  common 
judgment  of  men?  ^^  Better  that  ninety  and  nine 
guilty  persons  go  unpunished  than  that  one  innocent 
person  should  suffer  unjustly/'  What  is  this  but  say- 
ing that  the  one  mistake  irretrievable  and  fatal  which 
society  can  commit  is  the  mistake  of  doing  wrong. 
For  such  a  mistake  as  this  there  is  no  possible  com- 
pensation. It  unsettles  the  very  foundations  on  which 
the  whole  fabric  of  society  rests. 

Then  let  us  fully  confront  this  one,  all-compre- 
hending basal  truth,  that  the  one  sacred  thing  in  the 
universe  is  righteousness.  He  who  has  it  has  the  key 
which  will  unlock  an  illimitable  paradise.  In  this 
bark  he  may  safely  undertake  to  navigate  the  ocean 
of  eternity,  and  adopt  Whittier's  words  of  calm  and 
joyful  trust : 

"  I  know  not  where  His  islands  lift 
Their  fronded  palms  in  air ; 
I  only  know  I  can  not  drift 
Beyond  His  love  and  care." 

The  sublimest  spectacle  in  the  universe  is  the  man 
who  takes  his  stand,  and  maintains  it,  upon  eternal 
truth  ;  who  recognizes  the  absolute  supremacy  of  prin- 
ciple ;  who  stands  forth  as  a  visible  illustration  of  the 
kingdom  which  can  not  be  moved,  but  abideth  for- 
ever, asking  not  what  is  politic  or  expedient  or 
agreeable,  but  what  is  true  and  what  is  right.  Such  a 
life  strikes  its  roots  down  into  that  which  is  eternal. 
It  takes  hold  on  God;  it  makes  us  realize  the  dignity 
and  the  worth  of  man  ;  it  is  absolutely  invincible. 

"  For  right  is  right,  since  God  is  God, 
And  right  the  day  must  win ; 


CHARACTER  OF  A  TRUE  LIFE.  363 

To  doubt  would  be  disloyalty, 
To  falter  would  be  sin." 

Like  that  eminent  Christian  father,  Athanasius, 
the  greatest  man  of  his  time,  and  one  of  the  greatest 
of  all  time,  who,  when  he  was  told  that  the  entire 
church  was  yielding  to  the  God-denying  heresy,  and 
so  he  and  his  cause  must  fail,  bravely  lifted  up  his 
voice  in  banishment,  "  Athanasius  contra  mundum^^ — 
''  Athanasius  against  the  world.^'  And  Athanasius,  as 
against  the  world,  was  the  victor;  for  the  entire 
church  rejoices  to  confess  its  faith  in  that  cr^eed  which 
is  called  by  his  name.  Or  that  man  of  iron,  John 
Knox,  to  whose  fervent  spirit  ''the  fire  of  surrounding 
martyrdoms  but  gave  a  rush  of  quicker  zeal,''  and 
when  the  ax  of  tyrants  threatened,  firmly  stood  his 
ground  until  the  idols  fell  and  Scotland  was  free;  over 
whose  grave  an  enemy  pronounced  the  eulogium: 
"  Here  lies  one  who  never  feared  the  face  of  man."  Or 
like  that  grand  heroic  daughter  of  his,  who,  when  she 
pleaded  so  earnestly  for  the  life  and  liberty  of  her 
husband,  John  Welsh,  and  received  an  intimation 
from  the  king  that  he  would  grant  her  request  if  she 
would  bring  her  husband  to  promise  to  desist  from  his 
rebellious  preaching,  held  up  her  apron  before  the 
king,  her  eyes  flashing  fire,  and  exclaimed :  "  Please, 
your  majesty,  before  I'd  ask  my  husband  to  do  this, 
I'd  catch  his  head  here." 

One  of  the  most  familiar  passages  of  personal  his- 
tory that  could  be  cited  is  that  one  which  illustrates, 
with  peculiar  clearness  and  impressiveness,  the  qual- 
ity of  character  on  which  J  now  insist.  I  allude  to 
that  most  memorable  chapter  in   the   personal  history 


364  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

of  Luther,  in  Avhich  he  was  called  to  stand  before  the 
Diet  of  Worms.  It  was  a  scene  of  fearful  excite- 
ment, and  Luther  himself  was  almost  the  only  per- 
son who  seemed  entirely  calm.  When  called  upon 
to  retract  the  heresies  of  his  writings,  *'  he  made 
answer  in  a  low  and  humble  tone,  without  any  vehe- 
mence or  violence,  but  with  gentleness  and  mildness, 
and  in  a  manner  full  of  respect  and  confidence,  yet 
with  much  joy  and  Christian  firmness. ''  He  said,  if 
in  anything  he  had  used  severe  and  bitter  language 
to  men,  he  was  wrong ;  '^  but  as  to  doctrine,"  said  he, 
"  I  can  not  submit  my  faith  either  to  pope  or  councils. 
If  I  am  not  convinced  by  Holy  Scripture,  if  my  con- 
science is  not  thus  bound  by  the  Word,  I  can  not  and 
I  will  not  retract ;  for  it  can  not  be  right  for  a  Chris- 
tian man  to  speak  against  his  conscience."  And  then, 
having  uttered  these  final  words,  which  must  in  all 
probability  seal  his  fate,  he  looked  around  upon  the 
assembly  before  which  he  stood,  and  which  held  in 
its  hands  his  life,  and  said:  '^Here  I  stand.  I  can  do 
no  otherwise.  God  help  me.  Amen."  So  came  to 
its  birth  the  new  Protestantism,  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciple of  which  is  loyalty  to  God's  revealed  truth — 
a  principle  destined  to  work  a  full  and  thorough  refor- 
mation and  purification  of  the  church  of  the  living 
God.  The  only  sanctification  which  is  recognized  by 
the  Word  of  God  is  the  sanctification  through  the 
truth ;  any  and  all  other  forms  and  methods  of  sanc- 
tification are  born  of  fanaticism,  and  must  tend  only 
to  spiritual  despotism,  and  then  to  corruption. 

You   remember  how,  in    that  battle  on  which,  at 
the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  the  fortunes  of 


CHARACTER  OF  A  TRUE  LIFE.  365 

the  civilized  world  were  made  to  turn,  when  the 
genius  of  Napoleon  had  been  baffled  and  thwarted  by 
the  talent  of  Wellington,  so  that  the  fortunes  of  the 
contest  had  turned  against  the  French,  as  a  last  resort 
the  command  was  given  for  the  charge  of  the  Im- 
perial Guard.  It  was  near  the  close  of  one  of  the 
most  fearful  days  in  the  world's  history ;  scenes  of 
carnage  had  been  witnessed  more  appalling  than  lan- 
guage can  describe.  France,  England,  Europe,  the 
civilized  world,  were  looking  upon  the  struggle  which 
must  decide  their  destiny.  Then  it  was  that  the  for- 
tunes of  the  day  were  committed  to  the  Imperial 
Guard,  whose  steps  had  never  before  moved  but  in  the 
path  of  victory.  With  no  sound  of  fife  or  drum,  no 
shout  or  huzza,  the  guard  commenced  its  march  across 
that  dreadful  plain,  and  as  the  artillery  of  the  allies  was 
turned  upon  them,  mowing  down  their  ranks  at  every 
discharge,  there  could  only  be  heard  along  their  lines, 
^'  Close  up !  close  up !"  as  they  pressed  steadily  on. 
And  when  it  became  fully  evident  that  they  had  failed, 
and  that  a  few  more  discharges  would  annihilate 
them,  the  allies  in  admiration  of  their  bravery  ceased 
firing,  and  sent  the  message,  "  Brave  men,  surrender  ;" 
and  it  w^as  in  that  terrible  hour  that  this  mere  handful 
of  men,  standing  in  the  very  "jaws  of  death  and  in 
the  mouth  of  hell,"  returned  the  immortal  reply, 
"The  guard  dies;  it  never  surrenders." 

O,  could  the  ranks  of  truth  be  filled  with  men  of 
such  invincible  spirit  as  this,  the  glad  shout  would 
speedily  go  up  that  the  kijigdoms  of  this  world 
have  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of  his 
Christ. 


366  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

III.  A  True  Life  must  be  a  Consecrated 
Life. 

This  is  the  holiest  of  all  in  the  temple  of  charac- 
ter— the  place  where  God  dwells ;  where  the  Shekinah 
beams;  where  man  and  God  meet,  and  the  divine  in- 
terpenetrates and  pervades  and  transforms  the  human ; 
where  is  that  secret  conduit  through  which  the  life 
of  God  flows  down  into  this  world  of  death.  For 
what  this  dead  world  needs  is  life.  Not  forms,  nor 
creeds,  nor  polish,  nor  pruning  primarily;  not  by 
mechanical  appliances,  nor  spiritual  legerdemain  ;  not 
by  robes,  and  tonsures,  and  incense,  and  attitudes,  can 
the  terrible  necessities  of  our  ruined  humanity  be  met. 
The  one,  earnest,  agonizing  prayer  is  for  lije\  and 
until  this  prayer  is  answered  we  have  no  other  wants 
and  can  know  no  other  blessings.  The  world  may 
totter  under  its  weight  of  cathedrals;  its  pile  of 
ghastly  uniformity  as  to  religious  rites  and  ceremonies 
may  have  a  base  as  broad  as  Sahara,  and  all  be  but  a 
splendid  mausoleum  of  the  dead. 

The  lamp  of  sacrifice  is  the  only  one  which  can 
cast  its  rays  into  the  dungeon  of  sinning  and  suiFer- 
ing  humanity.  There  must  be  those  who  are  willing 
to  live  for  the  world  just  as  Christ  was  willing  to  die 
for  the  world.  Every  truly  consecrated  soul  is  a  liv- 
ing soul,  and  becomes  a  channel  of  the  divine  life,  it 
is  a  golden  link  binding  humanity  to  God — a  tree  of 
life  whose  leaves  and  fruit  are  for  the  sustenance  and 
healing  of  the  nations. 

1.  Such  a  life  is  in  harmony  loith  the  universe. 
Everything  in  nature  finds  its  end  out  of  itself.  The 
sun  shines  not  for  itself,  but  for  the  world.     The  rain 


CHARACTER  OF  A  TRUE  LIFE.  367 

falls  not  for  itself,  but  for  the  world.  The  flowers 
bloom  not  for  themselves ;  they  bloom  to  fill  our  air 
with  fragrance  and  our  hearts  with  beauty. 

2.  And  so  of  man.  A  man  has  not  a  parental 
spirif  who  has  it  not  in  his  heart  to  sacrifice  for  his 
child;  a  child  has  not  2i  filial  spirit  who  is  not  willing 
to  sacrifice  for  his  parent ;  a  brother  is  not  truly  such 
who  is  not  willing  to  share  his  brother's  sorrows,  and 
extend  a  helping  hand  for  his  relief;  a  husband  is  not 
worthy  of  the  relation  who  does  not  take  his  wife  for 
poorer  as  well  as  richer,  for  worse  as  well  as  better, 
and  for  sickness  as  well  as  health;  a  man  is  not  a 
patriot  who  has  it  not  in  his  heart  to  sacrifice  himself, 
if  need  be,  for  his  country's  good.  Indeed,  a  man 
does  not  even  get  a  glimpse  of  the  high  possibilities 
before  him  as  an  artist,  a  poet,  an  architect,  a  philoso- 
pher, or  a  worker  in  any  of  the  high  fields  of  human 
achievements,  whose  heart  has  never  glowed  with  an 
enthusiasm  which  would  lead  him  to  forget  him- 
self in  his  work,  and  make  him  rejoice  to  sacrifice 
himself  for  his  work.  If,  then,  a  man  is  not  a  father, 
a  child,  a  brother,  a  husband,  a  patriot,  an  artist,  or 
a  hero,  who  has  not  learned  obedience  to  the  great 
law  of  sacrifice,  may  we  not  put  all  this  together, 
and  rise  to  the  highest  generalization  where  we 
can  see  the  whole  truth  face  to  face?  A  man  is 
not  a  man,  he  does  not  illustrate  the  divine  idea  of 
humanity,  unless  he  has  come  to  this  great  birth  ex- 
perience of  self-crucifixion. 

3.  We  have  seen  how  this  law  of  sacrifice  is 
wrought  into  the  very  texture  of  the  universe,  so  that 
he  who  lives  a  selfish  life  sets   himself  against  all  the 


368  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

forces  of  the  universe,  visible  and  invisible,  and  so 
becomes  a  monstrous  blot  upon  its  fair  pages.  But 
I  desire  especially  to  say  that  this  law  of  sacrifice 
constitutes  the  very  substance  and  essence  of  Chris- 
tianity;  so  much  so,  that  a  man  dees  not  even  conceive 
of  the  Christian  life  who  is  a  stranger  to  this  law. 
'^  Ye  know  the  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who, 
though  he  was  rich,  yet  for  our  sakes  became  poor, 
that  we  through  his  poverty  might  be  made  rich; 
who,  being  in  the  form  of  God,  thought  it  not  rob- 
bery to  be  equal  with  God,  but  made  himself  of  no 
reputation,  and  took  upon  him  the  form  of  a  servant, 
and  was  made  in  the  likeness  of  men  ;  and  being  found 
in  fashion  as  a  man  he  humbled  himself  and  became 
obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross." 

Such  is  Christ  and  such  is  Christianity.  And  they 
who  share  most  fully  the  life  of  God,  will  illustrate 
most  clearly  this  great  law  of  sacrifice.  Look  upon 
another  picture,  such  as  we  have  been  so  long  familiar 
with  that,  as  I  fear,  we  fail  to  recognize  its  sublimity. 

^^  In  journeyings  often,  in  perils  of  waters,  in 
perils  of  robbers,  in  perils  by  mine  own  countrymen, 
in  perils  by  the  heathen,  in  perils  in  the  city,  in  perils 
in  the  wilderness,  in  perils  in  the  sea,  in  perils  among 
false  brethren,  in  weariness  and  painfulness,  in  watch- 
ings  often,  in  hunger  and  thirst,  in  fastings  often,  in 
cold  and  nakedness." 

Now  let  me  put  by  the  side  of  this  picture,  which 
seems  to  me  to  be  one  of  the  most  wonderful  ever 
sketched,  one  from  a  humbler  source.  One  week  ago 
last  Wednesday,  there  was  celebrated  in  Eastern  Ohio, 
at  an  obscure  place  called  Gnadenhutten,  the  centen- 


CHARACTER  OF  A  TRUE  LIFE.  369 

nial  of  a  sad  tragedy  which  marked  the  early  history 
of  Christian  missions  on  this  continent.  The  Mora- 
vians, with  much  heroism  and  sacrifice,  had  planted  a 
mission,  hoping  to  Christianize  and  then  civilize  the 
wild  men,  aborigines  of  this  continent.  The  mission 
had  been  established,  but  it  was  at  a  fearful  expense 
of  suffering,  and  toil,  and  hardship.  On  the  night  of 
the  24th  of  May,  1782,  the  mission  family  were 
alarmed  while  at  supper  by  the  barking  of  a  dog.  As 
one  of  the  brethren  opened  the  door  to  ascertain  the 
cause,  a  company  of  Indians,  lying  in  ambush,  fired 
upon  them,  and  he  fell  dead,  while  his  wife  and  others 
were  wounded  at  his  side;  but  they  succeeded  in  bar- 
ricading the  door  of  their  house-fort,  and  the  well 
and  wounded  rushed  up-stairs.  But  their  refuge  was 
a  vain  one,  for  the  Indians  persevered  in  their  attack 
and  fired  the  building,  and  all  but  two  perished  in  the 
flames.  One  woman,  sick  and  wounded,  crawled  un- 
observed from  the  burning  house,  and  succeeded  in 
concealing  herself  in  the  bushes,  and  so  lived  to  tell 
the  story.  "  The  last  time  I  saw  my  sister,'^  she  said, 
"  she  was  kneeling  on  the  burning  roof  in  prayer, 
and  I  heard  her  say,  in  a  clear,  sweet  voice, '  'T  is  all 
well,  my  dear  Savior.'  "  In  that  hour  of  terrible  sur- 
prise and  mortal  agony,  when  the  hopes  of  her  life 
and  the  treasures  of  her  heart  had  perished  in  an  hour, 
so  perfect  is  her  consecration  that  she  sweetly  con- 
fesses, "'Tis  all  well,  my  dear  Savior." 

[Note. — It  was  thought  best,  for  the  sake  of  completeness, 
to  allow  the  passages  in  this  discourse  which  are  repeated  in 
the  sermon  on  "God's  Requirements,''  to  remain. — Editor.] 


370  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 


VII. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTER. 

"  For  he  whom  God  hath  sent  speaketh  the  words  of  God; 
for  God  giveth  not  the  Spirit  by  measure  unto  him." — John 
III,  34. 

THE  first  question  which  arises  on  the  reading  of 
this  text  is  one  of  interpretation.  What  is  meant 
by  ^^  God  giveth  not  the  Spirit  hy  measure  unto  him?^' 
Doubtless  there  is,  at  the  very  outset,  some  suggestion 
of  contrast  between  the  way  in  which  God  gives  and 
the  w^ay  in  which  men  give.  3fen  give  "by  meas- 
ure " — with  a  rigid  and  calculating  parsimony,  lest 
the  supply  become  exhausted,  and  they  bankrupt ! 
God's  goodness  is  an  ocean  of  unw^asting  fullness.  It 
can  not  be  exhausted  and  it  can  not  be  diminished. 
It  is  infinitely,  gloriously  the  same,  "  yesterday,  to- 
day, and  forever.'^  He  is  able  to  do  for  us  "  exceed- 
ing abundantly  above  all  that  we  can  ask  or  even 
think.'' 

And  so  we  have  here  an  anticipation  of  the 
"  therefore  "  of  the  great  commission  :  '^  All  power  is 
given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth ;  go  ye  there- 
fore into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature."  Thus,  in  effect,  saying,  I  who  send  you 
am  the  everlasting  and  universal  King.  I  stand  on 
the  very  throne  of  earth  and  heaven,  and  give  my 
law   to   all    things,   all    men    and   all   angels;    and   in 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTER.  371 

sending  you  forth  I  put  you  in  league  with  all  the 
forces  of  the  visible  and  the  invisible  universe. 
Going  on  my  errands,  you  march  with  all  the  host 
of  God.  The  winds  shall  never  be  contrary.  The 
lightnings  shall  not  leap  forth  angrily  and  destruc- 
tively upon  you.  ''The  stars  in  their  courses"  shall 
not  fight  against  you,  as  they  did  against  Sisera, 
God's  enemy;  but  every  one  of  ihem  shall  shed 
down  upon  you  perpetual  benediction.  God  will 
give  his  angels  charge  concerning  you,  and  he  will 
give  the  whole  material  and  spiritual  universe  charge 
concerning  you.  Going  on  Christ's  errands  of  mercy 
and  salvation,  you  will  find  an  open  path  to  success 
and  victory ;  and,  if  you  do  but  mark  them  well,  you 
will  see  all  along  foot-prints  still  glowing  with  living 
light  from  the  everlasting  throne. 

But  a  more  specific  contrast  is  here  suggested; 
namely,  between  the  Christian  minister  and  the  priests 
and  prophets  of  the  old  dispensation.  To  these  God 
gave  his  Spirit,  but  it  was  "  by  measure."  It  was  lim- 
ited to  special  times,  places,  and  relations,,  and  did  not 
come  in  all  the  glorious  fullness  which  characterizes 
the  Christian  age.  To  them  it  came  as  an  influence 
external,  mechanical,  and  fitful;  to  the  minister  it 
comes  as  a  personal  agent,  warm,  vital,  and  bringing 
the  exhaustless  resources  of  life.  The  prophet  was, 
at  certain  times,  caught  up  into  the  mount  of  spirit- 
ual vision,  where  he  talked  with  God  face  to  face,  as 
a  man  talketh  with  his  friend.  God  comes  down  to 
the  minister,  and  walks  with  him  up  and  down  the 
ways  of  his  ordinary  life,  giving  him  that  sense  (»f 
sympathy  and  support  which  only  the  living  presence 


372  LECTURES  AS'D  SERMONS. 

of  an  almighty  Friend  can  give.  The  priest,  at  cer- 
tain times  and  in  a  prescribed  place,  waited  upon  God 
in  holy  service;  the  minister  serves  in  a  universal 
temple,  and  all  his  days  are  days  of  God. 

In  this  text  we  have  a  perfect  description  of  the 
Christian  Minister. 

T.  His  Character — ^SS'en^  of  God^ 
II.  His  Work — '^  To  speak  the  words  of  GodJ^ 
III.  His  Endowment — The  fullness  of  the  Divine 
Spirit. 

I.  His  Character — "Whom  God  hath  sent.^^ 
.   1.  First  of  all,  then,  he  is  described  as  one  "sent.'^ 
He  is  not  his  own  master.     The  very   essence   of  his 
ministerial  character  is  service.     He  has 

"  A  work  of  lowly  love  to  do 
For  the  Lord  on  whom  he  waits." 

"Whosoever  will  be  great  among  you,  let  him  be  your 
minister;  and  whosoever  will  be  chief  among  you, 
let  him  be  your  servant:  even  as  the  Son  of  man 
came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister,  and 
to  give  his  life  a  ransom  for  many." 

Now,  it  follows  that  precisely  here  is  the  test  of 
genuineness,  and  also  of  value,  in  a  minister.  That 
life  which  coii tains  most  of  spiritual  service  is  most 
perfectly  conformed  to  the  Christian  pattern  ;  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  life  which  contains  most  of  self- 
seeking,  no  matter  though  it  be  prosecuted  with 
consummate  adroitness  and  success,  will  be  most  ab- 
solutely abnormal  and  unchristian — an  organized  re- 
bellion against  the  order  of  heaven  and  the  spirit  of 
Christianity. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTER.  873 

2.  But  there  is  here  also  a  suggestion  of  aggresii- 
iveness. 

The  minister  is  one  who  has  a  mission.  He  is 
not  simply  to  keep  guard,  to  stand  on  the  defensive, 
to  hold  the  fort,  as  we  have  been  singing  in  all  these 
years,  ad  nauseam;  but  he  is  to  go  forth  to  aggress- 
ive warfare.  Christ  himself  says  :  ^'  Think  not  that 
I  am  come  to  send  peace  on  the  earth ;  I  am  not 
come  to  send  peace,  but  a  sw^ord.^'  The  fundamental 
assumption  of  Christianity — that  without  which  the 
Christian  religion  would  be  a  grand  impertinence — 
is  that  the  w^orld  is  wrong ;  that  the  established  or- 
der of  heaven  has  been  reversed,  and  hence  the  only 
hope  of  humanity  is  in  radical  reconstruction.  The 
audacity  of  human  rage  did  not  go  one  whit  beyond 
the  truth  when  the  apostles  Avere  described  as  the 
men  who  "  had  turned  the  world  upside  down ;''  for 
this  is  the  exact  aim  of  Christianity,  and  she  will 
not  be  satisfied  until  it  has  been  fully  accomplished. 
Her  spirit  w^ith  regard  to  all  other  religions  is  that  of 
holy  intolerance.  She  is  working  steadily  to  the  ideal 
of  making  this  earth  a  universal  temple,  in  which 
every  member  of  the  human  race  shall  be  a  devout 
and  spiritual  worshiper — all,  rich  and  poor,  cultured 
and  ignorant,  ruler  and  subject,  black  and  white, 
kneeling  together  on  our  common  earth,  and  repeat- 
ing in  blessed  unison,  ^'  Our  Father  who  art  in 
heaven.'^  For,  while  it  is  the  cry  of  monarchists 
across  the  water,  '^  God  save  the  queen  V  and  of  pol- 
iticians here,  ''God  save  the  Union!''  and  of  timid 
ecclesiastics,  "  God  save  the  Church !"  let  it  be  the 
cry  of  Christians  everywhere,  "  God  save  the  people!" 


374  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

for  if  they   are   saved,  everything  else  worth   saving 
will  be  saved  too. 

Joseph  Cook  once  said  that  the  grand  character- 
istic of  Mr.  Moody — that  in  which  he  shows  his  gen- 
eralship more  than  anywhere  else — is  his  power  to 
set  other  people  to  work,  and  "in  so  setting  them  to 
work  as  to  net  them  on  fire  ^^  and  in  this  single  phrase 
Mr.  Cook  gives  an  excellent  description  of  a  Chris- 
tian worker.  Men  who  have  been  so  set  to  work  as 
to  be  set  on  fire,  are  the  men  for  whom  the  church 
is  waiting. 

We  need  to  fix  it  a  little  more  deeply  in  our  minds 
that  we  belong  to  a  militant  church,  and  must  either 
conquer  or  die.  No  man  who  has  not  this  spirit  of 
determined  aggressiveness — this  unflinching  purpose 
to  turn  everything  to  account  for  the  Master  and  his 
one  work  of  saving  men — is  a  minister  at  all.  Nay, 
he  is  not  even  a  Christian  in  any  full  and  normal 
sense.  He  may,  indeed,  belong  to  that  class  who 
shall  be  saved  "so  as  by  fire,"  for  it  can  never  be 
told  where  the  line  is  which  separates  these  from 
those  who  shall  be  finally  lost — a  fortunate  wave  may, 
at  the  very  last,  carry  the  imperiled  one  into  the  port 
of  everlasting  deliverance — but  this  is  no  truthful 
illustration  of  the  real  genius  of  Christianity.  He 
that  is  content  to  stand  idle  all  the  day  in  the  eccle- 
siastical market-places  because  no  man  hath  hired 
him,  or  to  sit  in  the  seats  of  spiritual  ease  and  expa- 
tiate on  the  good  things  of  the  kingdom  while  men 
are  dying  all  around  him,  or  to  spend  his  time  gazing 
wistfully  into  the  heavens  because  he  expects  ulti- 
mately to  enter  them,  will  need  something  more  than 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTER.  375 

the  consecrating  hands  of  a  bishop  to  make  him  a 
true  minister  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  And  if  I  believed 
that  it  is  the  necessary  influence  of  the  schools,  and 
especially  of  the  theological  school,  or  any  other 
course  of  preparatory  training  for  the  ministry,  to 
conceal,  or  in  any  manner  to  obscure  this  truth,  I 
should  pray  in  behalf  of  Methodism  and  spiritual 
culture,  in  reference  to  them  all,  "Good  Lord,  de- 
liver its!'' 

We  have,  of  late,  been  singing  quite  too  much — 

"0  to  be  nothing,  nothing, 
Only  to  lie  at  His  feet!" 

For  lying  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  is  not  the  special  busi- 
ness of  the  Christian  in  this  world.  When  the  time 
comes,  and  the  word  comes,  it  is  quite  as  important, 
and  quite  as  Christian,  to  go  forth  into  the  '^high- 
ways and  hedges,  and  compel  them  to  come  in." 
There  are  a  good  many  people  who  are  more  willing 
to  pray  for  the  New  Jerusalem  to  come  down  from 
heaven,  than  to  labor  to  build  it  up  on  earth.  "  It 
is  a  blessed  thing  to  go  to  heaven  in  a  chariot  of  fire, 
but  more  blessed  still  to  leave  behind  those  who  shall 
weep  by  the  cast-oif  mantle  of  flesh,  and  exclaim  : 
'  My  father !  the  chariots  of  Israel  and  the  horsemen 
thereof!'" 

3.  The  mission  of  the  minister  is  a  divine  one — he 
is  sent  of  God. 

He  goes  on  God\s  errand  as  definitely  and  author- 
itatively as  does  an  angel.  He  goes  to  men  with  a 
message,  which  is  just  as  really  from  God,  and  just 
as  certainly  fraught  with  vital  interest  to  the  race,  as 
was  that  message  of  wondrous  import  which  the  angel 


376  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

Gabriel  brought  to  the  lowly  Jewish  maiden  of  Naz- 
areth, whom  he  saluted  as  the  most  highly  favored  of 
women,  because  she  was  to  be  the  mother  of  the  Son 
of  God.  He  enters  the  ministry,  not  because  of  a 
general  desire  to  do  good — to  be  fully  consecrated  and 
loyally  obedient  to  the  divine  will — but  because  of 
the  solemn  pressure  of  Jehovah's  authority;  because 
he  has  come  to  have  a  deep  and  abiding  conviction 
that  he  is  called  to  this  work,  as  really  as  though  the 
Divine  Master  had  spoken  his  individual  name  from 
the  skies  and  imperatively  summoned  him  to  this 
post  of  duty. 

I  regard  this  as  a  most  vital  matter.  For  my 
young  brethren  who  are  just  entering  the  Christian 
ministry,  I  pray,  more  than  for  any  human  qualifica- 
tion— more  than  for  superior  natural  endowments  or 
high  educational  attainments — more  than  for  extraor- 
dinary gifts  and  graces,  a  clear  aud  distinct  sense  of 
a  personal  divine  call.  Without  this,  you  are  no  min- 
ister; with  it,  you  may  feel  that  you  are  "linked  with 
Omnipotence. '^  You  should  be  in  the  ministry  be- 
cause of  your  conviction  that  God  wants  you  there ; 
not  for  your  own  sake,  but  for  Christ's  sake,  and  for 
the  sake  of  your  perishing  fellow-men ;  and  there,  not 
to  make  a  convenience  of  the  ministry  until  something 
more  lucrative  or  more  inviting  shall  offer — a  specu- 
lator, or  money-broker,  or  j3olitician  in  disguise,  while 
the  deluded  people  unsuspectingly  believe  that  you 
are  in  good  faith  a  minister  laboring  with  consuming 
desire  for  the  salvation  of  their  souls — but  there  to 
save  souls,  to  serve  the  Master,  to  put  down  error,  to 
drive  out  sin,  to  pour  light  into  dark  minds  and  bring 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTER.  377 

peace  and  consolation  to  sad  hearts,  and  by  all  possi- 
ble means  to  bring  back  to  the  race  its  lost  purity 
and  perfection.  The  apostle  speaks  of  some  who  have 
entertained  angels  unawares;  were  he  writing  to-day, 
he  would  also  be  able  to  speak  of  families  and  churches 
who,  while  thinking  to  open  their  doors  to  God's 
messengers,  have  found  to  their  grief  and  humiliation 
that  they  were  entertaining  money-brokers  or  in- 
surance agents  unawares.  Who  shall  tell  to  what 
extent  the  shock,  which  all  this  gives  to  the  faith  of 
God's  people,  makes  against  the  success  of  Christian- 
ity in  the  very  places  w^iere  it  ought  to  be  most  glo- 
riously victorious 

(a)  He  who  feels  that  he  is  in  the  ministry  at  the 
command  of  God,  will  be  likely  to  be  faithful  to  his 
calling.  He  will  not  caricature  the  ministerial  office 
by  turning  aside,  for  slight  reasons,  to  follow  other 
professions.  By  his  heroism  and  self-sacrifice,  he  will 
make  it  possible  for  the  church  to  believe  that  men 
do  enter  the  sacred  office  from  the  highest  motives. 
And,  instead  of  shallow  editorials  on  the  "  Decay  of 
Pulpit  Power,"  written  by  men  who  rarely  or  never 
see  the  inside  of  a  Christian  church,  it  will  be  felt 
and  acknowledged  on  all  hands  that  the  pulpit,  with 
such  men  in  it,  is  a  center  of  power,  and  that  the  in- 
fluences proceeding  from  it  are  more  vital  and  influ- 
ential than  any  other.  The  order  of  Heaven  will  be 
maintained,  and  God's  truth  placed  on  the  throne  of 
this  world. 

(6)  This  sense  of  a  personal  divine  call  will  hold 
the  minister  to  God^n  own  idea  of  this  tcork. 

Living  in  the  solemn  presence  of  a  "thus  saith 
25 


378  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

the  Lord/^  he  will  not  find  it  comfortable  to  walk  in 
the  slimy  ways  of  the  ecclesiastical  politician.  He 
will  be  so  busy  in  exhorting  other  men  to  make  their 
calling  and  election  sure,  that  he  will  have  little  time 
to  think  of  his  own  calling  and  election  to  fat  bene- 
fices and  high  offices.  Think  of  Moses  coming  down 
from  the  holy  mount  to  concoct  some  scheme  for 
placing  himself  at  the  head  of  a  dynasty;  or  Caleb 
and  Joshua  planning  to  turn  their  exploring  tour  to 
private  advantage,  keeping  a  sharp  lookout  for  the 
rich  pasture-lands,  the  living  springs,  or  the  eligible 
town-sites,  which  they  would  make  haste  to  secure 
when  once  the  land  should  be  occupied  ;  think  of  Paul 
laying  in  with  Ananias,  on  the  occasion  of  that  first 
visit,  to  secure  for  him  the  "  best  thing ''  in  the  infant 
church ;  or  John,  making  all  haste  to  get  himself  back 
to  Ephesus  from  the  Patmos  Isle,  to  make  sure  of  a 
copyright  of  his  sublime  visions, — and  the  sacrilege 
would  not  be  a  whit  more  real,  though  it  might  be 
more  grotesque,  than  that  which  may  be  committed 
by  ecclesiastical  place-seekers  in  this  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, and  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

(c)  This  conviction  of  a  call  from  God  will  dothe 
the  ministry  ivith  power. 

Next  to  the  fact  of  life  in  God,  this  is  the  one 
grand  qualification  for  an  effective  ministry.  Even 
a  rude  and  uncultured  man,  with  a  clear  conviction 
that  he  is  God's  messenger,  will  wield  a  power  in- 
comparably ^  greater  than  the  most  cultivated  and 
richly  endowed  representative  of  the  schools  who 
takes  up  the  ministry  simply  as  a  profession.  A  sad 
day  would  it  be  for  the  Methodist  Church  were  she 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTER.  379 

to  exchange  this  characteristic  sense  of  a  divine  call 
on  the  part  of  her  ministers  for  the  best  products,  and 
all  the  products,  which  the  schools  can  afford.  Were 
she  to  lose  this  holy  impulse  and  this  sweet  authority, 
and  take  instead  all  her  colleges  and  her  theological 
schools,  it  would  be  a  fatal  exchange.  When  our 
Methodist  Samson  consents  to  be  deprived  of  that 
which  has  been  hitherto  a  visible  sacrament  between 
him  and  God,  the  uncircumcised  will  be  sure  to 
triumph. 

And  so  let  me  say  to  my  younger  brethren  who 
are  just  now  entering  the  holy  ministry.  Go,  sum- 
moned by  the  voice  of  God.  Go  as  God's  messengers. 
Christ  sends  you.  The  blessed  Spirit  arms  you  with 
his  divine  authority.  You  go  as  legates  of  the  skies, 
just  as  really  as  though  you  were  angels  from  heaven. 
Go,  then,  as  Christ's  representatives.  As  you  enter 
the  house  of  woe,  may  the  stricken  ones  see  Christ, 
the  Consoler,  in  you  !  As  you  stand  up  before  the 
people,  may  Christ,  the  Great  Teacher,  stand  with 
you  and  speak  his  words  through  you.  And  when 
you  minister*  at  the  altar — applying  the  baptismal 
water,  breaking  the  bread,  and  dispensing  the  cup — 
may  your  ministry  and  your  benediction  be  that  of 
the  invisible  Christ,  who,  having  been  translated  from 
this  realm  of  sense,  makes  men  the  organs  and  chan- 
nels of  his  grace  and  life. 

II.  But  the  text  sets  forth  the  work  of  the  minis- 
ter— "  To  speak  the  words  of  God^ 

Not  his  own  words — his  personal  conceits  and 
speculations ;  not  the  words  of  other  men,  for  he  may 
call  no    man   master;   not   the   words  of  the   church, 


380  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

though  it  is  indeed  the  body  of  Christ — but  the  mes- 
sage of  the  Divine  Father  to  his  sinful  and  erring 
children.  The  one  thing  which  must  not  be  absent 
from  the  Christian  pulpit  is  the  word  of  God.  Take 
this  away,  and  we  have  no  Christian  pulpit  at  all — no 
true  ministry,  no  church,  no  Savior,  no  life,  no  hope — 
nothing  but  darkness,  despair,  and  death,  everywhere 
and  forever!  The  one  deprivation  which  carries  all 
possible  miseries  in  its  bosom  is  a  '^  famine  of  the 
word  of  God ;"  and  it  is  this,  the  world^s  great  want, 
which  the  preacher  is  set  to  supply. 

But  let  him  take  no  narrow  and  illiberal  view  of 
the  "  words  of  God.''     For— 

1.  Some  of  the  '^ words  of  God"  are  written  on 
the  face  of  the  material  universe. 

Nature  articulates  God's  thoughts  and  feelings — 
his  purposes  and  his  character.  His  words  are  writ- 
ten in  characters  of  light  on  the  deep-blue  of  the 
overarching  heavens,  and  in  characters  of  green  and 
gold,  scarlet  and  vermillion,  all  over  the  face  of  this 
beauteous  earth.  They  are  proclaimed  from  the 
clouds  by  the  "  fire-tongue  of  thunder,"  and  scratched 
by  the^^^  fire-pen  "  of  the  volcano  upon  the  adamant- 
ine rock.  They  sweep  up  from  the  mighty  deep  in 
the  '^  voices  of  many  waters,"  and  they  are  borne  to 
us  in  the  soft  music  of  the  evening  zephyr;  indeed, 
"  there  is  no  speech  nor  language  where  their  voice 
is  not  heard." 

Every  word  of  God  is  holy ;  and  every  man  who 
is  able  to  understand  and  interpret  these,  so  as  to 
lodge  them  more  perfectly  in  the  minds  and  hearts 
of  other  men,  has  a  holy  mission — one  which  neither 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTER.  381 

he  nor  his  fellows  have  a  right  to  disparage.  The 
professor  of  natural  science  has  his  commission  from 
God  as  truly  as  the  professor  of  revealed  religion. 
And  he  has  a  right  to  stand  by  his  side — not  above 
him  and  not  below  him,  but  by  his  side — as  a  fellow- 
worker  in  God's  great  harvest-field  of  truth.  The 
last  use  to  which  the  Bible  should  be  put  is  to  wield 
it  as  a  bludgeon  against  the  votaries  of  science.  I 
know  of  but  one  thing  more  nauseating  than  for  men, 
who  have  hardly  learned  the  alphabet  of  science,  to 
stand  up  in  Christian  pulpits  and  spend  their  breath 
in  "refuting"  Darwin  and  Huxley,  Tyndall  and  Her- 
bert Spencer — without  ever  having  read  a  chapter 
that  either  one  of  them  has  ever  written — and  that  is 
for  men,  Avho  have  never  learned  the  alphabet  of  rev- 
elation, to  assume  to  dispatch  with  a  contemptuous 
sneer  Moses,  Paul,  John,  or,  more  frequently,  the 
Bible  as  a  whole.  In  the  same  way  might  a  blind 
man,  out  of  his  own  poor  and  mutilated  experience, 
annihilate  the  whole  science  of  optics,  or  a  deaf  man 
"  refute  "  all  the  laws  of  sound. 

Let  not  the  minister  of  religion  thus  turn  God's 
harmonies  into  discords.  Let  him  not  begin  his  work 
by  denying  the  God  of  nature.  And  let  him  not 
contradict  the  facts  of  nature,  "  lest  haplv  he  be  found 
to  fight  against  God."  Rather  let  him  be  a  reverent 
and  loving  student  of  nature.  Let  him  often  seek 
rest  and  inspiration  by  holding  '^communion  with  her 
visible  forms."  Let  him  breathe  the  "  unsectarian 
air."  Let  him  bask  in  the  beams  of  the  catholic  sun. 
Let  him  go  back  and  stand  with  the  old  Hebrews, 
who  saw  God  in  everything,  and  communed  with  liim 


382  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

everywhere,  never  allowing  any  barricade  of  second 
causes  to  shut  him  olf  from  human  view. 

2.  The  "words  of  God '^  are  written  on  the  pages 
of  human  history. 

For  the  very  idea  of  history  assumes  that  the 
career  of  humanity  is  a  development,  the  unfolding  of 
a  germ,  and  so  that  it  proceeds  according  to  a  plan — 
that  it  had  a  beginning,  and  tends  to  a  conclusion. 
If  the  successive  generations  of  men  are  but  so  many 
waves  of  one  great  changeless  sea;  if  the  ebb  and  flow 
of  human  affairs  is  but  an  unprogressive  oscillation 
between  extremes  eternally  fixed;  if  the  stream  of 
human  events  flows  ever  on  in  one  weary,  monoto- 
nous go-round,  evermore  repeating  itself,  then  is  his- 
tory impossible.  History  is  an  expression  of  the 
thought  of  God,  who  implanted  these  wonderful  po- 
tencies in  the  original  germ ;  an  expression,  too,  of 
peculiar  significance  and  sacredness.  God's  words  are 
written  here  in  characters  of  light  and  life,  and  of 
darkness  and  blood;  of  freedom  and  serfdom,  and  of 
prosperity  and  disaster;  of  beauty  and  order,  and  of 
chaos  and  ruin.  A  careful  and  comprehensive  survey 
compels  the  conclusion  that  "God  is  the  judge;  he 
casteth  down  one  and  raiseth  up  another." 

But,  in  admitting  God  to  the  field  of  history,  the 
minister  must  not  exclude  man.  He  must  still  recog- 
nize his  responsible  agency  and  his  creative  power. 
He  must  not  think  of  the  race  as  "a  patent  engine, 
to  be  ruled  over  with  valves  and  balances."  He 
must  not  think  that  sinners  can  be  molded,  or  chis- 
eled,  or  sand-papered  into  saints;  or  that,  if  the  proper 
ingredients   be   skillfully   mixed,  right  character  can 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTER.  383 

always  be  produced.  He  must  never  think  that  me- 
chanical processes  or  manipulations  or  evolutions  can 
solve  the  solemn  problem  of  spiritual  life  and  char- 
acter. He  must  fully  understand  that  God  can,  and 
does,  maintain  a  government  over  free  beings;  that 
man  is  indeed  the  ^'arbiter  of  his  own  destiny" — and 
yet  that  that  destiny  is  the  last  and  most  adequate 
expression  which  God  can  make  of  himself  in  the 
realm  of  finite  existence. 

3.  But  all  possible  revelations  meet  in  one  per- 
sonal revelation,  who  is  styled,  by  way  of  eminence, 
"  The  Word  of  God;'^  and  it  is  the  one  great  and 
comprehensive  work  of  the  minister  to  make  this  rev- 
elation known — to  cause  men  to  see  it  and  receive  it. 
In  this  sinful  and  deathful  world  of  ours  there  is  but 
one  thing  worth  saying — but,  O  for  grace  to  say  it 
aright,  with  our  lips,  our  hearts,  and  our  lives! — 
^^  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sin 
of  the  world !'' 

Now  the  ^vords  by  which  this  personal  revelation 
of  God  is  made  known  to  men  are  pre-eminently  the 
words  of  God*  and  it  is  these  words  which  it  is  pre- 
eminently the  business  of  the  minister  to  speak.  His 
one  work  is  to  clear  away  all  obstructions  which  lie 
between  men  and  the  word  of  God ;  to  lay  the  Bible 
on  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  men,  and  lodge  its 
saving  truths  in  their  deepest  consciousness,  thus 
making  it  a  controlling  force  in  their  lives.  The 
minister's  science,  his  department,  and  his  text-book, 
is  the  Bible.  He  is  under  the  same  obligation  to 
know  the  Bible  and  how  to  use  it  as  the  doctor  to  un- 
derstand  medicine,  the  astronomer  the   telescope,  or 


384  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

the  mason  the  trowel.  To  this  extent  his  obligation 
is  imperative.  He  may  not  ignore  it,  for  he  can  not 
escape  it.  If  he  lacks  this,  no  matter  what  else  he 
may  know,  he  is  a  charlatan.  No  matter  how  digni- 
fied and  impressive  in  personal  bearing,  how  shrewd 
and  enterprising  in  financial  aifairs,  how  thoroughly 
versed  in  ecclesiastical  and  canon  law,  or  how  adroit 
and  successful  as  an  ecclesiastical  politician;  no  mat- 
ter how  perfectly  he  may  comprehend  the  church  as 
a  mere  machine,  and  feel  himself  competent  to  '^run 
it ;''  no  matter  how  eloquent  or  learned,  how  polished 
in  manner  or  amiable  in  spirit, — if  he  lacks  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  Bible,  and  the  ability  to  use  it  as  an  in- 
strument of  spiritual  edification,  he  lacks  the /oimda- 
tion-element  of  a  true  ministerial  character. 

But  what  is  it  to  know  the  Bible?  Is  it  to  be- 
come so  familiar  with  the  original  languages  of  Scrip- 
ture that  we  can  stand  face  to  face  with  God's  inspi- 
ration, with  no  human  authority  to  intervene?  Is  it 
to  know  the  archaeology  of  the  Bible,  so  that  no  land 
shall  be  so  familiar  as  the  Holy  Land ;  no  city  as 
Jerusalem ;  no  people  as  that  people  among  whom 
Christ  lived  and  died,  and  of  whom,  according  to  the 
flesh,  he  came ;  no  dress,  dwellings,  trees,  plants, 
flowers,  fruits,  customs,  observances,  so  well  known 
as  those  which  go  to  make  up  the  frame-work  of 
Scripture?  Is  it  to  have  the  memory  richly  stored 
with  the  very  words  of  the  Bible,  so  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  shall  always  find  ready  instruments  for  any 
work  which  may  need  to  be  done  upon  any  part  of 
our  nature?  Is  it  to  understand  the  great  truths  of 
the   Bible,   so  that   we  are  mighty  for  theologic  and 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTER.  385 

polemic  strife?  All  these,  indeed,  but  incomparably 
more.  It  means  that  the  grand  inspirations  of  Scrip- 
ture have  taken  possession  of  our  souls.  It  means 
that  we  have  come  to  read  in  our  Bible  the  dialect 
of  heaven — the  speech  of  the  immortal  life.  It  means 
that  every  foot  of  the  outer  court  is  familiar  ground; 
but  it  also  means  that  it  has  become  so  because  we 
have  so  often  passed  through  it  on  our  wav  to  the 
holiest  of  all. 

And  what  is  it  to  speak  tlie  words  of  God  ?  Is  it 
to  interlard  one's  discourse  with  the  very  words  of 
Scripture,  as  if  there  were  in  these  some  mechanical 
virtue,  and  then  roll  them  over  the  congregation  with 
majestic  arsis  and  thesis  like  the  waves  of  the  sea? 
Is  it  to  select  and  have  at  command  texts  of  Scrip- 
ture which  shall  serve  as  so  many  sharp-pointed 
weapons  upon  which  to  impale  our  tlieological  ene- 
mies? Is  it  to  make  the  Bible  a  framework  by 
means  of  which  to  exhibit  to  tlie  admiring  gaze  of 
our  congregations  the  splendid  triumphs  of  our 
genius  and  treasures  of  our  learning?  Is  it  to  prac- 
tice our  ingenuity  upon  it  to  see  with  what  felicity  of 
alliteration,  w^iat  grotesqueness  of  grouping,  and  with 
what  kaleidoscopic  variety  of  permutations  we  can 
be\vilder  the  congregation,  and  especially  the  Sab- 
bath-school ?  Is  it  to  make  a  verse  of  the  Bible  the 
point  of  departure  for  a  theological  or  philosophical 
disquisition,  couched,  not  in  the  language  of  the  peo- 
ple, but  in  that  of  the  schools,  upon  which  men  pro- 
nounce the  very  doubtful  encomium  that  it  would 
"  read  well  in  a  book,''  and  during  the  delivery  of 
which  ^^  the  hungry  sheep  look  up  but  are  not  fed?" 


386  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

Not  thus  is  the  genuine  ministry  of  the  word.  He 
truly  speaks  the  words  of  God  who  brings  their  life- 
power  to  bear  upon  the  natures  of  men,  and  makes  it 
as  though  they  were  standing  face  to  face  with  the 
Omniscient  One,  who  brings  them  to  recognize  his 
all-comprehending  infinity,  his  rightful  sovereignty, 
his  spotless  purity,  and  his  parental  sympathy. 

Let  me  repeat  it :  the  first  and  great  business  of 
the  minister  is  to  bridge  the  chasm  between  God's 
written  word  and  the  people,  and  to  bring  them  to 
understand  it,  not  merely  as  to  its  outward  form,  but 
especially  as  to  its  spirit  and  life.  And  so  if  there  be 
anything  that  hinders  this,  that  makes  the  minister 
unintelligible,  that  keeps  him  away  from  the  people, 
it  is  vicious,  and  ought  to  be  eliminated.  Whether 
it  be  a  clerical  costume,  a  ministerial  tone,  a  bookish 
style,  a  monkish  air,  lack  of  delicacy  in  thought  and 
feeling,  daintiness  of  manner,  cloudiness  of  view, 
moroseness  of  temper,  sluggishness  of  feeling, — any- 
thing, whatever  it  be,  that  operates  as  a  non-con- 
ductor between  the  preacher  and  the  people,  is  evil, 
and  should,  at  whatever  cost,  be  removed.  The  same 
Master  who  requires  us  to  cut  off  a  right  hand,  or  to 
pluck  out  a  right  eye,  if  it  hinder  us  from  entering 
into  life,  would  certainly  require  us  to  lop  off  an  , 
excrescence,  or  an  eccentricity,  if  it  hinders  others 
from  entering  into  life.  Mrs.  Charles,  in  that  ex- 
cellent book  of  hers  devoted  to  the  Wesleyan  refor- 
mation, puts  some  very  sensible  words  into  the  mouth 
of  one  of  her  heroes  who  is  looking  forward  to  the 
Christian  ministry :  '^  I  am  going  to  Oxford,  and 
when     I    have    learned    how    the    old    Greeks    and 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTER.  387 

Romans  used  to  speak,  before  I  take  orders  I  should 
like  to  go  to  another  university  to  learn  how  the 
poor,  struggling  men  around  us  speak  and  think  ;  to 
live  among  the  fishermen  of  the  coast,  to  go  to  sea 
with  them,  to  share  their  perils  and  privations,  that 
I  may  learn  how  to  reach  their  hearts  when  I  come 
to  preach  ;  and  then  to  live  among  such  as  these  poor 
miners,  to  go  underground  with  them,  to  be  with 
their  families  when  the  father  is  brought  home  hurt 
or  crushed  by  some  of  the  many  accidents;  and  to 
speak  to  them  of  God  and  the  Savior,  not  on  Sun- 
days only  and  on  the  smooth  days  of  life,  but  when 
their  hearts  are  torn  by  anxiety  or  crushed  by  be- 
reavement or  softened  by  sickness  or  deliverance 
from  danger." 

It  is  especially  to  be  deplored  when  a  man's 
learning  comes  between  him  and  his  highest  useful- 
ness ;  when  these  intellectual  treasures  which  have 
cost  us  so  much  of  time  and  toil  and  money  become 
mere  impedimenta  in  the  spiritual  campaign  upon 
which  we  have  entered.  And  yet  there  is  danger  of 
just  this.  Having  struggled  heroically  to  acquire 
Hebrew  and  Greek,  science  and  theology,  because  we 
know  we  need  these  for  our  work,  it  requires  some 
good  judgment  and  some  heroism  not  to  thrust  them 
in  the  faces  of  our  suffering  people.  Plainness  and 
simplicity  are  royal  virtues  in  every  department  of 
character,  but  they  are  especially  Christ-like  when 
brought  into  the  speech  of  the  pulpit.  The  Rev.  Mr. 
Romaine,  of  the  last  century,  had  some  reputation 
for  learning,  and  was,  at  the  same  time,  a  very  pop- 
ular preacher.     But  his  sermons  gave  little  indication 


388  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

of  his  learning;  on  the  contrary,  he  always  spoke  in 
the  simple  language  of  common  life.  Some  of  his 
admirers  were  dissatisfied  with  this,  and  wished  him 
to  speak  more  learnedly.  On  the  following  Sabbath, 
when  the  time  came  to  announce  his  text,  he  read  it 
first  in  Hebrew,  and,  looking  over  the  congregation, 
remarked:  ^' Not  one  of  you  understands  that."  Then 
he  read  it  in  Greek.  ^^  I  think  one  or  two  of  you  un- 
derstand that."  Then  in  Latin.  "Perhaps  half  a 
score  of  you  know  that."  Finally  he  read  it  in  En- 
glish, saying,  '^  All  of  you  understand  that.  In  the 
church  I  had  rather  speak  five  words  wath  my  un- 
derstanding than  ten  thousand  words  in  an  unknown 
tongue." 

The  preacher  is  an  interpreter,  and  he  is  the 
best  preacher  who  is  the  most  successful  interpreter, 
who  is  most  successful  in  translating  the  truth  of 
God  into  the  experience  of  men.  Now  this  is  quite 
as  much  a  matter  of  the  heart  as  of  the  head, 
and  hence  it  is  quite  as  necessary  that  the  words  of 
God  be  spoken  affectionately  as  that  they  be  spoken 
intelligibly;  and  so,  of  all  men,  the  minister  must 
have  depth  and  tenderness  of  Christian  sympathy. 
The  cross  is  eloquent  because  it  shines  upon  us  with 
the  radiance  of  love,  and  every  man  who  uplifts  this 
blood-red  banner  must  do  so  under  the  same  holy  in- 
spiration. The  warmth  of  love  will  sometimes  sub- 
due the  soul  "  that  laugheth  at  the  shaking  of  a 
spear."  Not  as  a  theologian  or  a  rhetorician  or  an 
orator  may  the  minister  do  his  work,  but  as  a  man 
and  a  brother,  as  a  witness  for  Jesus,  as  one  who  has 
felt  in   his  own   heart   the   bitterness  of  sin  and  the 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MINISTER.  389 

power  of  an  endless  life,  and  so  is  able  to  testify  to 
the  ability  of  Christ  to  "  save  unto  the  uttermost.'^ 
Without  this  heart-experience  his  sermons  will  have 
a  dry,  metallic  echo  as  of  voices  long  since  dead,  "  as 
sounding  brass  or  a  tinkling  cymbal." 

III.  And,  finally,  let  me  mention  the  Endowment 
OF  THE  Minister  ;  namely,  the  Holy  Ghost. 

That  which  distinguishes  and  characterizes  him 
is  the  holy  anointing  which  rests  upon  him  as  a 
"tongue  of  fire.''  As  a  religion  without  the  Holy 
Ghost  would  not  be  Christianity,  so  a  man  without 
the  Holy  Ghost  would  not  be  a  Christian  minister. 
He  may  be  as  eloquent  as  Chrysostom,  as  irresistible 
as  Luther,  as  gentle  and  lovable  as  Melanchthon, 
as  logical  and  theological  as  Paul,  as  winning  as 
Fletcher,  and  as  persistent  as  Wesley ;  yet  if  he 
have  not  the  Holy  Ghost  resting  upon  him  as  an 
invisible  garment  of  power,  he  is  not  a  minister  at 
all.  He  may  speak  with  the  tongues  of  men  and 
angels;  he  may  "give  his  goods  to  feed  the  poor,'' 
and  his  "  body  to  be  burned ;"  "  he  may  know  all 
mysteries  and  all  knowledge ;"  and  yet,  unless  he  is 
called  and  endowed  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  is  not  a 
minister.  As  well  expect  vision  without  light,  or 
sensibility  without  life,  as  to  look  for  spiritual  service 
without  spiritual  endowment.  As  life  to  organism, 
as  fire  to  powder,  as  the  electric  spark  to  the  electric 
wire,  such  is  the  Spirit  of  God  to  all  human  appli- 
ances for  the  salvation  of  men.  Without  it  they  are 
nothing  and  dead ;  with  it  they  rise  into  the  highest 
realm  of  power.     Only  the  tongue  of  fire  can  preach 


390  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

the   gospel    successfully ;    only   the    Holy   Ghost   can 
make  a  man  a  "  burning  and  shining  light." 

O  that  some  angel  from  God's  right  hand  would 
come  down  in  this  holy  hour,  and  speak  again  to  our 
deepest  consciousness  this  one  all-comprehending  se- 
cret of  ministerial  success !  O  that  the  Divine  Spirit 
would  open  to  our  view  the  unseen  world,  with  its 
one  eternal  Light,  before  whose  shining  all  earthly 
lights  grow  dim  and  disappear;  that  he  would  make 
us  to  hear  that  Voice,  before  which  all  earthly  voices 
sink  into  silence;  that  we  might  catch  some  glimpse 
of  that  great  white  throne,  before  which  we  must  soon 
stand  and  give  account  for  the  most  precious  trust 
ever  committed  to  mortals ! 

On  the  famous  Eddystone  light-house,  oflP  the  south 
coast  of  Cornwall,  in  the  English  Channel,  is  the  in- 
scription, ^^  To  give  light  to  save  lifeJ^  *  God  has  placed 
us  on  the  coast  of  a  more  dangerous  sea,  which  is 
even  now  all  bestrown  with  spiritual  wrecks,  and  has 
given  us  a  light  to  guide  the  imperiled  to  a  place  of 
safety.  Let  us,  my  brethren,  make  it  the  one  motto 
of  our  ministry,  "  To  give  light  to  save  life.'^ 


FIDELITY  TO  TRUTH.  391 


VIII. 

FIDELITY  TO  TRUTH. 

"  Thou  desirest  truth  in  the  inward  pjft-ts." — Psalms  li,  6. 

THIS  is  God's  fundamental  demand  of  every  moral 
being.  Nothing  is  so  offensive,  even  to  men,  as 
insincerity.  It  matters  little  what  other  qualities  are 
present  if  that  of  truthfulness  is  wanting.  No  sub- 
tlety of  intellect,  no  amiability  of  temper,  no  attrac- 
tions of  person,  no  agreeableness  of  manners,  no  ad- 
vantages of  fortune  or  position,  can  by  any  means 
atone  for  falseness  of  heart.  He  who  is  untrue  to  us 
is  foul  and  loathsome  in  our  sight.  The  man  who 
is  actuated  simply  by  selfish  motives,  who  gives  no 
satisfactory  proofs  of  loyalty,  who  casts  away  one  only 
to  take  another  into  his  special  favor  and  confidence, 
who  is  continually,  by  word  and  by  manner,  assuring 
us  that  we  dwell  in  the  innermost  sanctuary  of  his  af- 
fection, and  yet  is  ready  to  turn  from  us  altogether 
so  soon  as  we  cease  to  be  able  or  willing  to  serve  his 
selfish  ends,  is  a  foul  stench  in  the  nostrils  of  every 
truth-loving  man,  and  can  retain  neither  the  respect 
nor  the  love  of  any  who  know  his  real  character. 
Men  who  are  controlled  simply  by  considerations  of 
policy,  mere  diplomatists  and  politicians,  continually 
pulling  invisible  wires  to  compass  their  individual 
ends,    usually  succeed    in    securing   the   contempt  of 


392  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

every  decent  man ;  and  as  a  general  rule  they  do  not 
achieve  any  permanent  success  for  themselves.  Few 
men  have  ever  been  so  richly  gifted  as  the  famous  dip- 
lomate,  Talleyrand,  and  few  have  ever  gained  for  them- 
selves a  more  conspicuous  and  assured  place  in  the 
pillory  of  everlasting  infamy.  Shakespeare's  lago  is 
the  most  representative  man  of  this  type  in  all  litera- 
ture, and  Shakespeare  dared  not  make  him  succeed. 
The  truth  of  human  nature  and  the  drift  of  human 
history  alike  combined  to  demand  the  speedy  down- 
fall and  punishment  of  such  a  heartless  villain. 

And  if  insincerity  is  so  offensive  to  man,  how  must 
it  be  to  the  omniscient  God,  '^  w^ho  searcheth  the  heart 
and  trieth  the  reins  V  While  all  forms  of  wrong- 
doing must  ever  be  odious  in  his  sight,  he  yet  de- 
nounces, with  peculiar  solemnity  of  emphasis,  those 
who  are  false  of  heart,  and  are,  as  Christ  denomi- 
nates them,  hypocrites.  And  hence  it  is  that  all  God's 
claim  upon  us  is  summed  up  in  that  one  most  com- 
prehensive word,  ^^  righteousness  ;''  for  all  is  met  if  but 
this  be  met. 

The  theme  which  is  suggested  by  this  text  is, 
Fidelity  to  Truth. 

I.  In  the  Convictions  of  our  Minds. 

Here  is  the  beginning,  and  yet  there  are  many 
who  ignore  any  special  obligation  at  this  point.  It 
is  a  crime  to  be  dishonest  in  deed  or  untruthful  in 
word,  but  they  have  a  right  to  think  and  to  believe 
as  they  please.  The  obligation  to  truth  in  the  forms 
of  our  conduct  is  fully  recognized ;  but  not  always  is 
it  clearly  seen  that  the  same  obligation  extends  to  the 
substance  of  character  which  lies  beneath  these  con- 


FIDELITY  TO  TRUTH.  393 

stantly  changing  phenomenal  forms.  It  is  admitted 
that  the  streams  which  come  out  upon  tlie  surface  of 
our  lives,  and  into  the  light  of  public  observation, 
should  be  pure,  but  it  is  sometimes  forgotten  that  the 
same  necessity  pertains  to  the  hidden  fountains  from 
which  they  come  forth. 

But  this  view  is  both  uuphilosophical  and  unscrip- 
tural.  ''  As  a  man  thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he." 
No  principle  is  better  established  than  the  power  of  ha- 
bitual thought  to  mold  character ;  or  the  absolute  de- 
pendence of  the  activities  of  the  outer  life  upon  the 
will,  of  the  will  upon  the  sensibilities,  and  of  the 
sensibilities  upon  the  intellect;  so  that  whatever  af- 
fects this,  conditions  the  whole  character.  Feeling 
will  be  like  thought,  and  volition  will  take  its  hue 
and  coloring  from  the  emotions.  And  so  the  first 
and  most  comprehensive  test  of  our  loyalty  is  as 
to  the  attitude  we  assume  and  maintain  with  reference 
to  the  truth.  He  who  is  upright  in  his  inmost  soul 
will  feel  an  unqualified  preference  for  the  truth  above 
everything  else.  He  will  "  buy  the  truth  "  at  whatever 
price ;  no  price  can  be  too  high  to  pay  for  it.  More 
than  interest,  more  than  friendship,  or  riches,  or  ease, 
or  honor,  or  the  blandishments  and  delights  of  social 
life,  will  he  prize  his  relations  to  the  kingdom  of  the 
truth.  He  will  say  with  Zwingli,  "For  no  money  will 
I  part  with  a  single  syllable  of  the  truth.'^  Like 
Cranmer,  he  will  thrust  his  right  hand  into  the  fire 
rather  than  it  should  be  raised  to  falsify  the  truth. 
With  the  holy  martyrs,  he  will  burn  at  the  stake,  and 
bless  Heaven  for  the  flame,  rather  than  that  the  truth 

shall  be  denied  or  betrayed. 

26 


394  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

This  absolute  loyalty  of  the  intellect  to  the  truth 
stands  opposed, 

1.  To  prejudiced  vieios. 

All  judgments  formed  before  the  case  has  been  in- 
quired into,  before  the  evidence  has  been  adduced, 
and  before  the  answers  have  been  made  and  candidly 
considered,  are  prejudgments,  and  so  are  of  the  na- 
ture of  prejudice.  He  who  is  under  their  influence 
can  not  be  loyal  to  the  truth,  and  is  liable  to  serve  the 
interest  of  error  with  extraordinary  effectiveness.  A 
great  and  controlling  prejudice  may  so  obtain  the 
mastery  of  the  soul  as  to  make  it  absolutely  incapable 
of  thinking  and  feeling  and  acting  justly. 

There  is  an  Arabian  tale  which  records  the  fate  of 
a  ship  whose  pilot  unfortunately  steered  her  into  the 
too  close  vicinity  of  a  magnetic  mountain.  The  nails 
and  rivets  were  all  attracted  and  drawn  out,  the 
planks  fell  asunder,  and  total  wreck  ensued.  Such  is 
the  influence  of  a  master  prejudice.  The  man  navi- 
gates his  vessel  successfully  until  he  comes  within  the 
influence  of  this  prejudice,  when,  lo!  the  bolts  and 
rivets  are  drawn  out,  the  seams  open,  the  timbers  fall 
apart,  and  himself  and  all  his  treasures  are  tossing  in 
the  angry  waves.  If  he  manages  to  get  together  his 
floating  wreck,  and  again  to  set  sail,  it  may  go  very 
well  with  him  until  he  comes  near  another  magnetic 
mountain,  when  the  disaster  will  be  repeated.  This 
mountain  prejudice  maybe  in  the  realm  of  science,  or 
theology,  or  reform,  or  practical  religion.  Wherever 
and  whatever  it  be,  if  it  be  a  prejudice  it  is  fraught 
with  danger. 


FIDELITY  TO  TRUTH.  395 

2.  It  is  opposed  to  partial  views. 

Truth  is  a  jewel  with  as  many  facets  as  there  are 
finite  intelligences  in  the  universe.  No  two  look  upon 
the  same  face,  and  so  there  is  a  sense  in  which  all  the 
views  of  finite  minds  must  be  partial.  The  view 
which  another  has  must  be  different  from  that  which  I 
have — not  only  because  we  occupy  different  positions, 
but  because  we  differ  in  our  ability  to  recognize  and 
discriminate  truth.  It  is,  then,  no  impeachment  of  a 
man  that  his  intellectual  horizon  is  limited,  and  does 
not  include  all;  the  fatal  mistake  is  when  he  assumes 
that  all  truth  is  in  his  own  consciousness.  The  testi- 
mony which  any  honest  man  bears  as  to  his  own 
thought  is  valuable,  and  should  always  be  respected; 
but  when  he*  takes  the  next  step  of  denying  all  views 
which  differ  from  his,  he  perpetrates  the  egregious  fal- 
lacy of  mistaking  a  very  small  part,  the  merest  infini- 
tesimal division,  for  the  grand  and  illimitable  whole. 
Truth  does  not  ask  any  man  to  be  false  to  his  own 
convictions,  even  if  such  a  thing  were  possible  ;  it  only 
asks  that  a  man  shall  so  far  understand  himself  as  to 
realize  how  limited  his  widest  survey  is,  and  so  to  con- 
cede to  others  the  same  sacred  right  which  he  claims 
for  himself. 

Christianity  has  much  at  stake  here.  There  are 
many  precious  truths  and  many  precious  experiences 
involved  in  this  great  work  of  human  salvation.  It 
is  not  strange  if  different  aspects  of  the  work  strike 
different  minds  as  of  paramount  importance.  Repent- 
ance, faith,  the  atonement,  the  incarnation,  the  sacra- 
ments, the  church,  the  priesthood,  baptism,  the  advent, 


396  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

the  millennium,  the  future  life,  the  gift  of  the  spirit, 
the  higher  life,  divine  communion,  have  each  in  its 
turn  been  so  treated  as  to  convey  the  implication  that 
it  contains  the  whole  ;  and  as  the  result,  the  Chris- 
tian army  is  rent  into  factions  and  divisions  which 
have  raised  the  shout  of  war  against  one  another. 

3.  And  finally,  not  to  mention  more,  this  is  op- 
posed to  selfish  and  reckless  views. 

Here  is  our  great  danger.  A  narrow  and  bitter 
intolerance  is  bad  enough,  but  not  so  injurious  as  a 
certain  unscrupulousness  and  recklessness  which  men 
show  when  their  selfish  interests  are  at  stake.  "  If 
these  things  are  true,''  said  a  notable  infidel  with  ref- 
erence to  the  Bible,  "  I  am  ruined."  Said  the  vile 
and  wicked  Colonel  Charteris,  "  I  will  give  thirty 
thousand  pounds  to  any  man  who  will  prove  to  my 
satisfaction  that  there  is  7io  Jiell.^^  There  can  be  no 
question  that  one  of  the  main  causes  of  infidelity  is  a 
certain  willful  predetermination  that  the  Bible  shall 
not  be  true.  Men  will  not  come  to  the  light  lest 
their  deeds  shall  be  reproved. 

And  as  in  religion,  so  in  all  matters  where  human 
interest  is  at  stake.  But  a  few  years  since  an  invisible 
line  drawn  across  the  map  of  this  country  marked  oif 
the  limits  of  loyalty  and  rev^olt,  so  that  the  masses  on 
either  side  were  arrayed  in  deadly  hostility  against 
each  other.  Was  this  because  of  any  radical  and  uni- 
versal difference  in  their  mental  constitution  which 
made  it  necessary  that  they  should  take  opposite  sides 
in  a  matter  of  such  vital  importance?  or  was  it  not 
rather  because  of  the  contagion  of  passion?  When 
has  the  civilized  world  ever  looked  upon  a  more  dis- 


FIDELITY  TO  TRUTH.  397 

appointing  spectacle  than  that  of  our  famous  Electoral 
Commission,  in  which  the  most  eminent  jurists  of  the 
Nation,  chosen  as  being  above  all  paltry  party  con- 
siderations, divided  on  that  great  question,  fraught  with 
such  momentous  issues,  eight  to  seven,  strictly  accord- 
ing to  their  party  affiliations?  Who  can  doubt  that 
there  was  in  the  minds  of  these  eminent  men,  though 
they  themselves  may  not  have  been  aware  of  it,  an 
element  of  prejudgment? 

Many  a  man  has  spent  his  time  belligerently  hunt- 
ing his  Bible  for  proof-texts  which  shall  support  and 
vindicate  him  in  the  beliefs  he  has  already  formed, 
who  has  never  thought  of  opening  his  Bible  humbly 
and  prayerfully  to  ascertain  what  is  there  revealed. 

Against  all  these  prejudiced,  partial,  selfish,  and 
reckless  views  stands  thorough  intellectual  honesty. 
Fidelity  to  truth  requires  that  the  intellect  shall  be 
absolutely  under  the  dominion  of  the  conscience.  It 
is  not  true  that  a  man  has  a  right  to  think  as  he  pleases, 
unless  he  pleases  to  think  what  is  true. 

II.  In  the  Feelings  of  our  Hearts. 

This  aspect  of  this  subject  is  invested  with  peculiar 
sacredness.  The  heart  is  the  citadel  of  life,  and  our 
supreme  interest  is  always  here.  A  man's  real  char- 
acter is  made  up  of  his  loves  and  his  dislikes.  To  do 
wrong  to  another  in  our  hearts  is  to  do  an  injury  for 
which  there  can  be  no  compensation — an  injury  to 
him,  indeed,  but  a  still  more  fatal  injury  to  ourselves. 

1.  One  of  the  most  flagrant  forms  of  this  is  in 
indulgim/  unfounded  suspicions. 

In  civil  society  every  man  is  innocent  until  lie  is 
adjudged  a  criminal;  and  he  can  not  be  convicted  as 


398  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

a  criminal  so  long  as  there  is  a  valid  doubt  in  his 
favor.  Shall  there  be  in  the  heart  of  a  Christian  man 
a  regard  for  another's  most  sacred  rights,  less  careful 
and  conscientious  than  that  which  characterizes  the 
administration  of  civil  society?  It  needs  to  be  more 
clearly  seen,  and  more  thoroughly  emphasized,  that 
we  have  no  right  to  think  evil  of  another  wantonly, 
even  in  our  inmost  soul.  It  is  a  form  of  injustice 
more  damaging  than  deeds  of  fraud  or  words  of 
slander. 

2.  Equally  does  this  law  of  truth  condemn  extrava- 
gant partialities. 

For  these  disturb  the  harmony  which  can  be  based 
only  on  the  truth,  and  are  sure  to  be  followed  by  un- 
reasonable prejudices.  Oscillations  toward  one  extreme 
must  be  counterbalanced  by  those  toward  the  other. 
Though  at  first  view  it  may  seem  generous  and  Chris- 
tian to  place  a  high  estimate  on  one's  friends,  even  to 
the  pitch  of  extravagance,  but  in  the  end  this  will  be 
found  to  rob  our  lives  of  symmetry  and  equipoise,  and 
to  obliterate  the  lines  and  features  of  our  own  per- 
sonality. A  man's  most  sacred  duty  is  to  be  himself 
in  thorough  faith  and  loyalty;  and  anything  which 
interferes  Avith  this  is  to  be  condemned.  It  is  not 
"well  when,  from  excess  of  friendship  and  good  feel- 
ing, one  binds  himself,  body  and  soul,  and  delivers 
himself  even  to  his  wisest   and  most  devoted  friends. 

3.  And  so  this  principle  of  truth  in  character /or- 
hids  all  undue  elation  or  depression. 

We  are  living  in  a  mixed  condition  of  affairs,  and 
shall  be  likely  to  pass  through  some  strait  and  diffi- 
cult places;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  our  capacity  is  so 


FIDELITY  TO  TRUTH.  399 

limited  that  a  very  small  good  will  sometimes  fill  it  to 
overflowing.  A  slight  success  makes  us  feel  that  vic- 
tory is  assured,  but  a  little  failure  leads  us  to  give  up 
everything  as  lost. 

People  who  are  subject  to  these  extreme  alterna- 
tions are  very  poor  material  to  work  into  any  great 
movement.  They  are  generally  strong  and  enthusi- 
astic when  they  are  not  particularly  needed,  but  in 
great  exigencies  are  not  to  be  reckoned  on.  When 
the  victory  has  been  gained  by  others,  they  will  swell 
the  hosannas  of  the  multitude ;  but  when  circumstances 
are  unpropitious,  they  are  ready  to  exclaim  with  Jacob, 
^*  All  these  things  are  against  me." 

Not  so  they  who  are  thoroughly  adjusted  to  the 
truth.  The  sources  of  their  strength  are  in  the  in- 
visible world;  they  care  not  for  the  varying  fortunes 
of  a  day,  for  they  feel  that  they  are  partakers  of  the 
nature  of  Him  Avith  whom  there  is  no  variableness, 
neither  shadow  of  turning,  and  who  is  the  same  yes- 
terday, to-day,  and  forever. 

"  Truth  crushed  to  earth  shall  rise  again  ; 
The  eternal  years  of  God  are  hers." 

III.  In  Our  Words. 

Speech  is  one  of  the  grand  distinguishing  preroga- 
tives of  rational  and  spiritual  being.  As  the  life  of 
the  tree  expresses  itself  in  its  characteristic  form  and 
structure,  building  up  this  visible  monument  to  its 
own  God-given  nature,  so  does  rational  life  build  up 
the  temple  of  human  language ;  and  that  which  gives 
this  its  high  value  is  that  it  is  the  unfolding  and  the 
embodiment  of  the  spirit.     Words  are  the  pledges  we 


400  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

give  to  each  other,  betokening  the  thoughts  and  the 
feelings  which  would  be  otherwise  invisible  and  in- 
audible. They  constitute  the  circulating  medium  by 
which  the  intercourse  of  lifejs  carried  on,  and  there  is 
no  greater  social  crime  than  making  and  circulating 
counterfeit  coin.  Carlyle  says  that  ^' lying  is  the  cap- 
ital crime.''  It  is  so  because  it  severs  the  ties  of 
mutual  confidence  which  bind  us  together,  and  makes 
real  spiritual  intercourse  impossible.  Could  it  be 
conceived  as  universal,  all  social  life,  all  family  life, 
and  indeed  all  rational  life,  would  die.  This  world 
would  be  turned  back  into  its  primitive  chaos,  dark- 
ness, and  death. 

The  obligation  to  truth  in  language  is  often  em- 
phasized as  to  business  and  social  life,  and  I  do  not 
propose  at  this  time  to  discuss  these  aspects  of  my 
subject ;  but  I  desire  to  call  attention  to  one  department 
of  life,  in  which,  as  I  judge,  there  is  special  danger 
that  we  forget  the  law  of  rigid  truth  in  language ; 
namely,  our  religious  life.  There  are  several  sources 
of  danger  here.  First,  we  are  likely  to  express,  not  what 
is  true,  what  but  we  feel  ought  to  be  true.  Then,  again, 
our  religious  exercises  are  sometimes  ritualistic,  and 
sometimes  perfunctory — that  is,  performed  for  others 
as  well  as  ourselves — and  so  it  awakens  no  lively  con- 
cern if  they  are  not  the  exact  setting  forth  of  what 
characterizes  our  individual  experience.  And  still 
again,  the  use  which  has  sometimes  been  made  of 
^^subscription ''  has  been  very  demoralizing.  When 
men  are  required  to  subscribe  to  a  creed  in  order  to 
enjoy  the  privileges  of  a  national  university  like  Ox- 
ford, there  is  a  premium  offered  for  infidelity  to  con- 


FIDELITY  TO  TRUTH.  401 

science.  The  effort  to  check  the  tendencies  toward 
heresy  in  the  great  schools  of  the  church  by  requiring, 
on  the  part  of  the  professors,  subscription  to  a  minute 
and  exhaustive  creed  statement,  put  forth  as  an  ulti- 
mate and  unchangeable  standard,  is  fraught  with  the 
same  danger.  And  so  it  needs  to  be  more  strongly 
emphasized  that  it  is  more  important  that  a  man  be 
loyal  to  his  own  convictions  than  even  to  the  church 
itself;  for  he  can  not  be  loyal  to  the  church  unless 
he  is  true  to  himself.  And  if  there  be  any  place 
where  a  man  should  be  at  special  care  in  no  way 
to  cloak  or  dissemble,  it  should  be  when  he  comes 
into  the  immediate  presence  of  God,  and  also  when  he 
meets  with  the  children  of  God  in  common  worship 
and  fellowship. 

IV.  And  finally,  leaving  the  special  features  and 
aspects  of  this  subject,  I  would  gather  all  that  re- 
mains to  be  spoken  into  one  by  saying,  that  we  should 
be  faithful  to  truth  in  the  Substance  of  Our  Livp:s. 

We  should  be  right  in  thought,  pure  in  feeling, 
and  upright  in  speech ;  but  higher  than  all,  and  cc>m- 
prehending  all,  we  should  be  irm  men  and  iiminen. 
What  we  do,  determines  our  relations  to  our  fellows; 
what  we  are,  determines  our  standing  as  before  God. 
And  when  he  says  to  us  that  he  '*  desires  truth  in  the 
inward  parts,"  he  means  us  to  understand  that  his  one 
grand  claim  upon  us  is  for  righteousness  of  character 
and  holiness  in  nature;  that  we  shall  recognize  in  an 
honest  and  practical  way  that  we  belong  to  God,  that 
we  do  steadily  and  unqualifiedly  hold  ourselves  on  the 
altar  of  consecration.  The  man  who  sincerely,  con- 
tinually, and   obediently  asks,  '^  Lord,  what  wilt  thou 


402  LECTURES  AND  SERMONS. 

have  me  to  do?"  and  who  makes  it  his  one  and  only 
business  to  do  the  things  which  are  made  known — 
not  as  unto  men,  but  as  unto  God — illustrates  in  his 
own  character  the  words  of  this  text.  He  sets  forth 
in  his  own  living  example  the  blessedness  and  the 
stability  of  a  life  which  is  truly  devoted  to  duty  and  to 
God;  for  what  God  wants  is  not  right  forms  of  action, 
nor  right  forms  of  speech  and  of  feeling,  considered 
in  themselves,  but  living  natures,  which  shall  reflect 
his  own  image.  He  is  most  effectually  served  and 
honored  by  those  whose  characters  are  more  eloquent 
than  their  words,  and  whose  spirit  of  sanctity  is  more 
contagious  and  more  fruitful  than  their  best  and  most 
beneficent  deeds.  What  is  wanted  is  men  and  women 
who  show  by  the  steadiness  and  equipDise  of  their  lives 
that  they  belong  to  the  "  kingdom  which  can  not  be 
moved,''  but  abideth  forever. 

This  type  of  character  is  the  only  guarantee  of 
permanent  commercial  prosperity.  Laws  can  not  ade- 
quately protect  us ;  business  methods  and  usages  can 
only  have  a  regulative  influence  ;  our  only  safe  ground 
of  anchorage  is  in  the  men  who  hold  their  own  in- 
tegrity as  absolutely  above  all  price.  Said  Edward 
Everett  of  his  friend,  Abbott  Lawrence :  ^'  I  verily 
believe,  that  if  the  dome  of  the  State-house,  which 
towers  above  his  residence  on  Park  Street,  should  be 
changed  to  a  diamond,  and  laid  at  his  feet  as  a  bribe 
to  a  dishonest  transaction,  he  would  spurn  it  as  the 
very  dust  he  treads  on."  In  such  men  is  the  only  real 
stability  of  our  commercial  life.  The  men  who  can 
be  trusted  are  sovereigns  here  as  everywhere. 

And    so   also   for  the   State.      So    long   as   public 


FIDELITY  TO  TRUTH.  403 

functionaries  are  honest,  and  believed  to  be  honest, 
republican  government  is  possible;  but  if  this  faith 
shall  die  out  of  the  popular  heart,  this  possibility  will 
die  with  it.  In  the  dark  days  of  our  own  Republic 
there  was  always  one  quenchless  light :  We  could  not 
doubt  the  honesty  and  the  patriotism  of  our  God-given 
President.  We  were  by  no  means  certain  as  to  his 
competency ;  there  were  grave  doubts  as  to  his  quali- 
ties of  statesmanship,  but  no  one  doubted  his  truth  j 
and  in  this  was  our  strength.  Had  it  been  otherwise, 
our  way  to  an  assureil  and  established  nationality 
would  have  been  longer  and  more  perilous.  xVnd  to- 
day the  men  who  give  strength  and  stability  to  our 
civil  life  are  those  who  commend  themselves  to  us  as 
sincerely  patriotic  and  incorruptible. 

But  especially  are  such  true  men  the  great  need  of 
the  church.  There  are  plenty  who  will  kindle  bon- 
fires on  the  heights  of  Zion,  but  too  few  who  are  burn- 
ing and  shining  lights.  There  are  plenty  who  will 
join  in  the  hosannas,  but  too  few  who,  by  patient 
and  self-sacrificing  labor,  are  hastening  on  the  latter- 
day  glory.  The  great  need  of  the  church  is  not  bet- 
ter creeds,  though  it  may,  for  all  I  care  now  to  say, 
need  these;  it  is  not  more  perfect  forms  and  more 
suitable  instruments  and  accessories  of  Christian  work 
and  worship,  though  often,  doubtless,  these  are  needed ; 
it  is  not  a  deeper  and  broader  and  richer  culture,  and 
this  is  everywhere  and  always  needed, — the  great  want 
is  for  more  of  truthful  characters  and  lives,  men  and 
women  who,  like  the  grand  old  martyrsof  the  ancient 
time,  can  die  for  Christ,  but  will  not  deny  him. 

And  the  })romise  to  such  is,  ^'  They  shall  walk  with 
me  in  white,  for  they  are  worthy." 


N  Sunday.  February  i6,  1890,  MRS.  HEMENWAY  died 
suddenly  of  heart  disease,  at  her  honne  in  Evanston. 
A  few  weeks  before,  she  wrote,  in  response  to  a  request 
for  the  facts  of  her  life,  these  significant  words: 

"As  regards  my  own  life,  in  Evanston  or  else- 
where, it  has  been  too  quiet  and  uneventful  to 
be  naentioned  except  as  the  privileged  honne- 
maker  of  one  of  the  purest,  truest,  and  best  of 
men,  who  fully  appreciated  the  meaning  of  that 
sacred  word,  Home." 

In  her  character  strength  and  beauty  were  harmoniously 
united.  Her  noble  life  was  filled  with  unselfish  devotion 
to  her  family  and  friends,  and  of  faithful  service  to  God. 
What  part  of  that  great  debt  the  Church  owes  to  Dr. 
Hemenway  is  due  primarily  to  the  faithful  ministries  of 
his  wife,  we  can  not  tell;  but  he  certainly  recognized  her 
sustaining  and  inspiring  influence  as  one  of  the  most 
precious  facts  of  his  life. 


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